Olive Ridley Sea Turtle - Conservation Status

Conservation Status

The olive ridley is classified as Vulnerable according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature And Natural Resources (IUCN), and is listed in Appendix I of CITES7.These listings were largely responsible for halting the large scale commercial exploitation and trade of olive ridley skins7. The Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) and the Inter-American Convention for the Protection and Conservation of Sea Turtles (IAC) have also provided olive ridleys with protection, and led to increased conservation and management for this marine turtle. National listings for this species range from Endangered to Threatened, yet enforcing these sanctions on a global scale has been unsuccessful for the most part. Conservation successes for the olive ridley have relied on well-coordinated national programs in combination with local communities and non-government organizations, which focused primarily on public outreach and education.Arribada management has also played a critical role in conserving olive ridleys 4.Lastly, enforcing the use of Turtle Excluder Devices(TEDs) in the shrimp trawling industry has also proved effective in some areas 7. Globally, the olive ridley continues to receive less conservation attention than its close relative, the Kemp ridley (L.kempii)

There are several projects worldwide that work hard to preserve the Olive Ridley sea turtle from extinction. When the Olive Ridley turtles come to the beach to lay their eggs, the eggs are getting relocated to the hatchery where they have a much better chance to survive. If the eggs were left on the beach they would face many threats such as getting washed away with the tide or getting poached. Once the turtles hatch, the baby turtles are getting carried to the beach and get released. This increases their chance of life.