Green Sea Turtles No Longer Endangered Species in Major Conservation Win

Once classified as “endangered” on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, green turtles’ status was recently downgraded to “least concern”.

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Green sea turtles are bouncing back thanks to decades of sustained conservation action, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) announced earlier this month.

The species’ latest assessment was carried out in December 2024 and showed that the global population has increased since the 1970s, leading to its reclassification on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species from “endangered” to “least concern”.

Established in 1964, the list is one of the world’s most comprehensive source of information on the global extinction risk status of animal, fungus and plant species. It counts 172,620 species, of which 48,646 are threatened with extinction.

“Conservation efforts have focused on protecting nesting females and their eggs on beaches, expanding community-based initiatives to reduce unsustainable harvest of turtles and their eggs for human consumption, curtailing trade, and using Turtle Excluder Devices and other measures to reduce the accidental capture of turtles in fishing gear,” the IUCN said in a press release.

Roderic Mast, Co-Chair of IUCN’s Species Survival Commission Marine Turtle Specialist Group, said the recovery is a “powerful example of what coordinated global conservation over decades can achieve.”

“Such approaches must focus not only on the turtles, but on keeping their habitats healthy, and their ecological functions intact,” Mast added. 

Conservation groups worldwide welcomed the reclassification.

WWF’s Global Marine Turtle Conservation Lead Christine Madden called is “a major win for turtle conservation and proof that coordinated action can reverse populations at risk of extinction.”

“This is a major milestone globally, but it’s not a time to be complacent. Conservation efforts must continue for green turtle populations to continue to thrive and recover in areas where they remain threatened by fishing gear entanglement, overfishing and loss of habitats,” she added.

The green sea turtle is the second largest of seven sea turtle species and has an incredibly wide geographical distribution, nesting in over 80 countries and inhabiting the temperate, tropical coastal waters of approximately 140 countries.

For decades, threats such as habitat loss, climate change, pollution, invasive species, commercial fishing and the illegal wildlife trade continue to contribute to the species’ decimation. Throughout the late 20th century, global populations experienced a 48-67% decline, according to the IUCN. But conservation efforts allowed the species to bounce back, with a population increased of around 28% compared to 1970s and 1980s levels.

“[D]espite multiple, consistent, and in some cases increasing (e.g., climate change impacts) threats, conservation efforts to protect nesting females and their eggs, and those to reduce harvest pressure, have been successful in many places around the world,” the IUCN said.

However, some subspecies, including those living in Costa Rica and Hawaii, remain threatened, and changes to their population numbers could lead to a reclassification of their Red List status in the future.

Global Biodiversity Still Dropping

While the comeback of green turtles is a reason for celebration, the Red List’s latest update confirmed what scientists have long warned: global biodiversity is dwindling at an alarming rate due to human activities like habitat destruction, climate change and pollution.

The IUCN found that 61% of bird species have declining populations – up from 44% in 2016. Of the 11,185 bird species assessed, 11.5% are threatened, primarily from deforestation and habitat degradation.

In the Arctic, which is warming four times faster than the rest of the world, seals are closer to extinction, threatened primarily by sea ice loss.

Meanwhile, six new species moved to the Extinct category, including the Christmas Island shrew (Crocidura trichura); a species of cone snail (Conus lugubris); the slender-billed curlew (Numenius tenuirostris), a migratory shorebird; and Diospyros angulata, a species in the same genus as ebony trees.

Featured image: Serge Melesan.