Sea Turtles & Oil Spills

Its hard to remain optimistic about the future of wildlife when oil spills like the current one get worse by the day with little hope of quick improvement.  We've talked about how oil can affect sea turtles through global warming (when its burned) and plastic (when oil is shaped into bags) on this blog before, but we've yet to delve into the murky world of oil extraction.  In the history of the environmental movement, oil spills, while tragic, have helped to spread awareness of the need to shift away from fossil fuels.

From the spill of California in the 60's which led to a ban on drilling off that coast, to the Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska, few things have captured public attention like an animal covered in oil.  We can only hope that this spill helps efforts to transition away from oil, though President Obama's statements to date don't give anyone the impression he's ready to back down from increased drilling off our coasts.  We agree with this great article on Grist about how the President could use the spill as an opportunity to move in a new direction.

So how are the turtles being affected by this disaster?  Recently we added a new page on our site about ocean pollution, prophetically the first two photos relate to oil and spills.  This page notes that oil affects both "convergence zones" at sea where juvenile turtles often live as well as nesting beaches.  Turtles can also ingest tar balls that can damage airways and lungs.  NOAA has a good fact sheet on turtles and oil spills.

Initial reports show 23 turtles washing up dead in Mississippi, though its not clear if the spill is to blame.  I also just heard a media report on the radio where the reporter claimed to watch sea turtles feeding on dead fish covered in oil.  The effects of this spill are likely to linger for a long time, according to turtle expert Peter Meylan, "The same factors than concentrate oil appear to concentrate posthatchlings, so the potential to lose some significant portion of future contributions to important nesting populations of several species is on the horizon." That could affect young green and hawksbill turtles nesting in Mexico and the Caribbean.  The spill is also likely to affect the peak of the nesting season for Kemp's ridleys, already hard hit by entanglement in fishing gear.

We'll be posting more updates on how turtles are being affected by this spill as they come in.  In the meantime, we've been asked how people can help.  Here are some suggestions:

-Support conservation groups working in that region as they work overtime to save affected wildlife.  Examples are: the Gulf Restoration Network or Restore America's Estuaries.

-Let President Obama know that expanded drilling is not the answer to our energy needs.  Defenders of Wildlife has information on how to leave a comment on the White House comment line.

-Tell your Senators to keep drilling out of the climate bill.

-Demand that the cleanup response be accelerated here.

-If you are in the area and happen to come across an affected turtle, here is a guide on what to do by WIDECAST.

-Follow updates and find more actions you can take at Surfrider's blog Oil On the Beach.