Sea turtles play a very important world in the ecosystem of life in the ocean.
They spend most of their lives in the ocean and will only come ashore when they need to lay eggs.
Generally, there are only seven different species of sea turtles in the ocean: Leatherback, Green Turtle, Hawksbill, Loggerhead, Olive Ridley, Kemp’s Ridley, and Flatback.
There are numerous groups that aim to protect and preserve the existence of sea turtles around the world.
One of which and considered the oldest and most accomplished sea turtle organization in the world is a Florida-based non-profit organization, the Sea Turtle Conservancy, founded in 1959.
Despite everyone’s efforts, the existence of sea turtles is still in danger.
According to WWF, for the past 200 years, humans’ illegal activities have done nothing but tip the scales against the survival of sea turtles in all parts of the world.
They have slaughtered sea countless sea turtles for their eggs, meat, skin, and shells.
For the longest time, these poor ancient marine treasures have been suffering from poaching and over-exploitation.
Not only that, but sea turtles also face habitat destruction and accidental capture in fishing gear known as bycatch.
The website added, “Climate change has an impact on turtle nesting sites; it alters sand temperatures, which then affects the sex of hatchlings. Nearly all species of sea turtle are now classified as endangered, with three of the seven existing species being critically endangered.“
If we love sea turtles, if we love marine life itself, then we need to act, we need to act now!
We don’t actually need to be in a group to save sea turtles, we can help save them in our own little ways.
Just like the people in this video, we can help protect the existence of sea turtles.
The video shows three different incredible moments when humans saved sea turtles from too many or overgrown barnacles.
The first group of men in the video was on a boat and it looked like their somewhere deep.
On their tracks, they spotted what seemed like a middle-aged sea turtle with some injuries on its flippers and tons of barnacles on the upper and lower part of its shell.
Using an improvised scraper made out of a 9mm steel bar, the men in the video started to scrape off the barnacles with all their strength to give the turtle relief.
Are barnacles harmful to sea turtles?
As it turns out, most barnacles do not actually hurt or harm sea turtles since they are only literally attached to the turtle’s shell or skin.
However, other barnacles may burrow into the skin and might cause discomfort.
Excessive barnacles may be a sign that a turtle isn’t generally healthy. Excessive barnacles could also make a turtle physically inactive, impact their vision, make eating difficult, and sometimes lead to infection.
Generally, barnacles are dependent on hard surfaces like turtle shells to thrive, it’s still part of the cycle and can’t be helped in any way.
A barnacle-free turtle still looks better.
The video continues with two other turtles being saved by humans.
Although, there’s no telling whether they’re from certain groups that protect marine animals.
It may not be a wild scale of rescue but what these men did was a huge help to those poor turtles that badly needed their help.
Thankfully, they were at the right place and the timing was absolutely perfect.
Hopefully, more and more people will join groups that protect marine life.
Although, we are all free to do our part individually and we can start that by not throwing any type of trash into the ocean or anywhere near it.
A simple contribution like that could go a long way if done my many.
Don’t forget to watch the video below.
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