Sea Turtle Week

: The Kemp's ridley sea turtle is the rarest sea turtle in the world.

These small sea turtles weigh about 80–100 pounds as adults and have an olive-green shell. They’re famous for nesting in huge groups called arribadas—when thousands of turtles come ashore to lay their eggs at once.

But Kemp’s ridleys have faced major declines from threats like egg collection and predators. Today, nearly all of their nesting happens at just one main beach near Rancho Nuevo, Mexico.

The numbers are staggering: about 40,000 turtles nested there in 1947. By 1981, fewer than 500 remained.

Kemp’s ridleys spend most of their lives in the North Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico, though a few have been carried by ocean currents as far away as Europe.

Learn more 👇
https://www.seeturtles.org/kemps-ridley-turtles

It’s pretty simple: if you’re headed outside, remember: Enjoy it. Respect it. Pick up your trash. 🌿🌊

Have a safe and wonderful Labor Day weekend!

According to recent, estimates, approximately 9 million turtles were slaughtered for their shells. Over a 150-year period, that equals over 60,000 turtles per year – more than twice the estimated number of nesting females surviving now.

Learn more about the "turtleshell trade"👇
https://www.seaturtleweek.com/turtleshell

The world’s oceans were hotter than ever previously recorded on Saturday, according to the latest data.

Average sea surface temperature outside polar regions was 21.1C.

Read more 👇
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/aug/24/worlds-oceans-hit-hottest-temperature-on-record-in-august?

Photo: Neil Ever Osborne

New research published in the Journal of Environmental Education highlights the long-term impact of conservation travel with SEE Turtles.

Researchers studied SEE Turtles' voluntourism programs across 10 developing countries, interviewing 60 volunteers and researchers to understand their lasting impact.

They found:
🐢 Volunteers experienced lasting changes in how they viewed conservation.
🌊 39.4% returned for another conservation trip.
💚 Participants were more likely to continue volunteering after returning home.

The study also found that while hosting volunteers comes with challenges, researchers viewed these partnerships as meaningful and beneficial for sea turtle conservation and funding.

Read the study 👇https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/EQICJTCJXPGRX2NNINBF/full?target=10.1080/00958964.2026.2699683

Do you have a minute to take our pledge to avoid turtleshell?

Pledge to shop carefully at souvenir shops and look for and avoid any products made of turtleshell, including bracelets, earrings, rings, guitar picks, combs, and fans.

This will help keep sea turtles like this one living happy and healthy in our oceans.

Sign our pledge today 👇
https://www.seeturtles.org/pledge

We know it can be surprising to see researchers tagging or measuring nesting sea turtles on the beach. So how can they do this without disturbing the turtles?

Sea turtles enter a natural trance-like state while laying their eggs, allowing trained researchers to safely collect important data—such as measurements, tags, and health information—with minimal disturbance.

Before egg laying begins, however, researchers keep their distance while the turtle crawls ashore, chooses a nesting site, and digs her body pit.

During 2026, our partner AGBO-ZEGUE (Togolese Association for Nature Conservation) brought together more than 300 volunteers to clean the beaches and streets of Agbodrafo, Togo.

Together, they removed 7,716 lbs of trash from 0.6 miles of beach and nearby roads, helping create a cleaner, safer place for sea turtles to nest.

Volunteers also learned about how plastic pollution affects sea turtles and the ocean. Some of the plastic collected will be reused to make plant pots for growing seedlings.

Meet our Sea Turtle Week cleanup partner: RASTOMA, a regional network of organizations working to protect sea turtles and coastal habitats across Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, among others.

Together, volunteers made a huge impact:

🇨🇲 Cameroon
♻️ Collected 1,222 kg (1.22 tons) of waste, including 756 kg of plastic bottles, plastic film, refrigerator foam, fishing nets, glass, and more.

🇬🇶 Equatorial Guinea
💚 32 volunteers removed 1,115 kg of plastic waste from just 500 meters of beach, including bottles, bags, flip-flops, broken plastic chairs, and other debris.

🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of the Congo
🌊 60 volunteers cleaned 14 km of beaches, collecting 455 kg of waste. The plastic was delivered to local recycling groups that turn it into plastic briquettes.

SPONSORS:

LunchBots
Because Tees
Earth Breeze
Blue Heron Bontanicals
Dots.eco