Importance of sea turtles for humans
Sea turtles have lived on this planet called Earth for more than 100 million years and have traveled the world’s oceans. They are one of the oldest species living on earth. Their body structure is so well designed that they have even survived the extinction that the dinosaurs could not survive. But now humans have become the biggest threat to the survival of this powerful creature. We have destroyed the harmony of nature and the environment in such a way that sea turtles that have survived major extinctions are now on the verge of extinction. We can learn about the current condition of the earth’s climate and environment by looking at the current condition of sea turtles.
Sea turtles have great economic value. They are goods of those countries that have them in their territory. The sea beaches are a popular tourist spot. Every year many people travel to the beaches of the world. And the beauty of the beaches of the sea are its living beings. Without corals, fish, turtles and other estuarine animals, the sea beaches lose their beauty. And for the ecosystem of the sea to function properly, all living things must be preserved.
Green sea turtles are usually herbivorous in nature. They feed on seaweed and keep it short, which helps maintain the quality of the seabed. It was also necessary to cut seagrass like lawn grass to make it grow better. The seabed provides the breeding ground for many valuable marine animals such as crustaceans, fish, shellfish, etc. If the turtles become extinct, the health of the seabed will deteriorate and the seagrass will decline. As a result, the animals that live on grass will be lost and this will affect other large animals that live on small herbivorous animals. Eventually, the entire ecosystem will collapse, resulting in the destruction of the living beings of the sea, which is the source of the beauty of the sea beaches. So tourists would not come to roam the beaches of the sea and countries whose economies depend on tourism will suffer in the long run.
The sea beaches and the dune system cannot contain the nutrition. So the vegetation doesn’t grow well on the dunes and nothing grows on the beaches. Sea turtles nest and lay eggs on the beaches. Each turtle lays almost 100 eggs each season. Not all of the eggs would hatch and not all of the young could hatch from the eggs. All these unhatched eggs and hatchlings that cannot leave the nest and reach the sea are the food source of the beaches and dunes.
The more nutrition, the more vegetation grows on the dunes. And as more vegetation grows, the ecosystem of the beaches and dunes works properly. Vegetation also firmly grips beach sands and prevents them from eroding. This saves the beauty of the beach from the sea. As the number of sea turtles decreases day by day, the nutrition sources of the dunes and beaches also decrease as a consequence. This will lead to the failure of the entire ecosystem, and as a result, the beach will lose its attractiveness to tourists, which will seriously affect the economy of these countries.
Sea turtles also have historical importance. They were the symbol of aristocracy and delicacy in ancient times. In China and Japan, the tortoise shell was used as a decorative ornament. They used to do it with tortoise shell shell shields. Sea turtle scutes were processed by the ancient Greeks and Romans to make components such as brushes and combs. People of the aristocratic class used these components produced by turtles.
The ancient Moche inhabitants of Peru worshiped the sea and the living beings of the sea. Sea turtles have often excelled in their arts.
Mexicans capture sea turtles for food and boots. In many areas of the world, coastal people rely on turtles as a source of protein. Its skin is used to make leather shoes and bags in many parts of the world. They also protect humans from attack by deadly jellyfish by eating them.
We can see that the world is becoming a hostile place for sea turtles. It is a clear warning to us that it may be harder for us to survive as well. If we learn from the mistakes we have made and commit to doing things right to prevent sea turtles from going extinct, we will also save ourselves.
