Our accomplishments are made possible with your support, and with the action of our more than 200,000 members and activists. You are a key component of our work to save sea turtles, whales, dolphins, sharks, salmon, marine wildlife and our oceans!

View a slideshow of wildlife Turtle Island worked to protect this year below.

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With your help in 2015 we:

  • Successfully demanded an end to Louisiana’s ban on enforcement of federal laws that require turtle-saving gear in shrimp nets. Enforcement of these rules could save 20,000 Kemp’s ridley sea turtles each year.
  • Halted cruel attempts to strip Endangered Species Act protections from Hawaii’s last 5,000 green sea turtles in order to allow hunting to resume.
  • Safeguarded thousands of sea turtles, whales, dolphins and other species by laying the groundwork for new “hard caps” on bycatch in the destructive California driftnet fishery, and intense scrutiny by on-board biological monitors.
  • Demanded tighter fishing regulations to save thousands of endangered Mexican loggerhead sea turtles each year. Unless the nation better protects the turtles, the U.S. could embargo its seafood.
  • Won new major international protections for whales and dolphins. Through these rules, the U.S. will prohibit imported seafood from fisheries that kill marine mammals in excess of U.S. standards.
  • Gained the commitment of American Airlines to cease shipping shark fins, becoming the first U.S. company to enact a blanket ban, and publicized Costa Rica’s corrupt attempts to allow shipments of illegal, endangered hammerhead shark fins to be shipped to China.
  • Protected wild endangered coho salmon through a significant legal victory in the California Court of Appeals after Marin County, Calif. falsely claimed its  Countywide Plan would not impact salmon habitat and failed to do proper environmental analysis.
  • Helped pass legislation creating permanent no-spray pesticide buffer zones to protect imperiled salmon and steelhead trout from five toxic pesticides in California, Oregon, and Washington.
  • Helped set aside a safe haven in more than 32,000 square miles of ocean that will be off-limits to a destructive longline fishery to protect endangered Atlantic bluefin tuna—and all the marine animals that swim beside them.
  • Helped gain international protections for a record number of species of sharks and rays, including scalloped hammerheads and thresher sharks.
  • Tested cutting-edge technologies including drones and an online satellite patrol to help catch outlaw industrial fishing vessels inside the protected Cocos Island National Marine Park.
  • Conducted six sea turtle and shark research expeditions, gaining new insight into their migration pathways through satellite and acoustical tagging.
  • Restored salmon creek habitat on public and private lands with hundreds of volunteers, stabilizing 200 feet of failing creekbank using natural materials, keeping cattle out of the creek and initiating a program to grow Ten Thousand Redwoods to restore habitat and sequester carbon.
  • Placed over 100 news stories in leading newspapers, online outlets, radio, television and other media to demonstrate to the world the need to protect sea turtles and other marine animals.
  • Gained the support of more than 240 scientists for hard-hitting, science-based policy change campaigns.
  • Mobilized more than 21,000 petition signatures by our members and activists around the globe.
  • Inspired love and action for sea turtles, salmon, sharks, and ocean life in more than 7,000 young people reached through our in-class educational programs and teacher trainings.

Help us accomplish even more for our oceans and marine wildlife in 2016 by making a tax-deductible donation today at www.SeaTurtles.org/Donate.  Through December 31, your donation of any amount will be matched dollar for dollar!