Green sea turtle diving, Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, Australia
© imageBROKER/Alam
Put your flippers in the air…
…it's World Sea Turtle Day! The gentle giant seen here doing the wave was snapped mid-dive, headed to the seafloor near the Great Barrier Reef to munch some marine grass. The green sea turtle is among the larger of the seven sea turtle species, with some individuals reaching 5 feet in length and weighing 700 pounds. They live throughout the world's subtropical waters, and like other sea turtles, they migrate long distances for food. Despite all that traveling, they return to hatch their eggs on the same select nesting beaches where they were born.
Unfortunately, also like other sea turtles, the green sea turtle is somewhat of a poster critter for endangered species awareness. In just the last five decades, 90% of the green sea turtle population was lost to overhunting, habitat destruction, and drowning in industrial fish nets. What better time than World Sea Turtle Day to see how you can help? Learning how your seafood was caught and searching out turtle-friendly seafood sources would be a great start.
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