Sea Turtles Are Bouncing Back—But It’s Not a Happy Ending for All

For once, there’s good news in the turtle world. A global study just found that more than half of the endangered sea turtle populations around the world are actually recovering.

Yep, you read that right. After decades of getting hunted, tangled in fishing nets, pushed off their nesting beaches, and cooked under a warming planet, these ancient swimmers are finally catching a break in many parts of the world.

Duke ecologist Stuart Pimm—who didn’t work on the study but clearly had feelings—called sea turtles “one of the real conservation success stories.”

And to be honest, he’s not wrong. The study looked at 48 turtle populations worldwide and found that threats like pollution and poaching are going down in a lot of places.

But before you throw confetti, let’s be real—this isn’t a fairy tale. The Pacific region isn’t doing as well as the Atlantic. And leatherback turtles? They’re still having a rough time.

According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, many leatherback populations are critically endangered. All seven regions they call home are loaded with environmental risks.

And these aren’t lazy turtles either—leatherbacks are known to swim nearly 6,000 kilometers in one trip. The downside? That kind of epic road trip means more chances to run into danger.

Green turtles, on the other hand, are showing real progress. While still endangered overall, they’re making comebacks in places like Mexico and the U.S. Why?

Because countries finally stopped treating them like seafood. The U.S. gave them legal protection in 1973, and Mexico banned all sea turtle harvesting in 1990. It took decades, but that patience is finally paying off.

Still, it’s not all sunshine and surf. Fishing gear is still one of the biggest killers of sea turtles. Some smart folks are working on tech to stop that, but unless fishing communities actually start using it, it won’t help much.

The study was published in Endangered Species Research, and it’s the first big update in over 10 years.

So yeah, turtles are tough. But they still need us to not mess this up again.