On April 20,210 the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion caused one of the worst environmental disasters in our countries history. As time passed, more and more oil leaked into water surrounding the oil rig. While people consider the impacts that the oil spill has on our environment, many do not consider the impact it has on sea turtles. Oil is a combination of chemicals, all of which can cause a significant threat to marine mammals and sea turtles.
The six species of sea turtles found around the United States are protected under the Endangered Species Act of 1973. For years the sea turtles have been threatened in their marine and terrestrial environment. Some of the most common threats that sea turtles face are from humans unknowingly destroying or altering the beaches turtles lay their eggs on, accidental capture, and entanglement in marine debris. The recent oil spill has caused a large amount of the Gulf of Mexico and sea turtles environment to become contaminated. Of the six endangered species of sea turtles, the Kemp's Ridley is threatened the most by the oil spill because it relies on the Gulf as its only breeding ground. On April 30, 2010 federal officials reported that 156 dead sea turtles had been recovered during the 10 days following the accident, most of which were Kemp's Ridleys. As of October 14, 2010 there have been a total 596 sea turtles found dead in the Gulf of Mexico since the spill in April. For an endangered species this is an extremely high number.
The large amount of oil in the gulf can effect sea turtles in a number of different ways. The major threats come from being exposed to the chemicals in the oil either externally or internally. The sea turtles can be harmed from the chemicals simply by swimming through the oil and/or by swallowing actual oil or prey that has been effected by oil. Another way sea turtles are effected by the oil spill is by the chemicals used to break up the oil in the water. These chemicals are also toxic to turtles. This is an example of a conflicting environmental problem because the method being used to try to get rid of the oil is presenting this entirely new problem for sea turtles.
Soon after the disaster the National Wildlife Federation established a Gulf Oil Spill Restoration Fund. It was created to help support the immediate and long term effort to protect wildlife and habitats. The most important project that this fund was intended to help was the work being done by the Sea Turtle Conservancy. Sea turtle eggs hatch anytime from May 1st to October 31st, and the work being conducted by the STC
is to relocate nests. The turtle nests that being moved are in areas that are potentially harmful for the hatched turtles. After hatching, turtles immediately go to the water and swim out to sea. But since the oil spill, the turtles from certain nests would swim right into the oil and most likely die. The STC is using money from the Gulf Oil Spill Restoration Fund to safely dig up, relocate nest to safer areas, and pay for the equipment necessary to do so. On August 19 there was a total of 278 translocated turtle nests and a total of 14,676 hatchlings released into the ocean safely. Members of the STC believe that if the nest had not been relocated all 14,676 sea turtles would not have survived. As the turtle hatching season comes to an end, efforts will still be made to continue to help rescue sea turtles that have been effected by the oil spill. No one wants to see one environmental disaster push a species into extinction.
No comments:
Post a Comment