More Sea Turtles are Nesting on Atlantic Coasts

Summary: Off the coast of Florida, the number of sea turtles has gone up and down within the past few decades. However, the nesting population in areas like Florida's coast have sky rocketed. The Loggerhead and Green turtle's have especially have experienced an increase in population, leading scientists to wonder about the reason. Unfortunately, no underlying cause has been found. Some experts believe that new fishing regulations on sea turtles in the Atlantic caused the rise in population, but that cannot be the only cause. Regardless, if Florida restaurants remove all turtle related menus from their menu, then this growth will continue.

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Analysis: I believe this growth of sea turtle population is a plus for Florida's tourism and for sea turtles. This will give vacationers more to see and experience. Also, sea turtle protection groups must be very pleased with this information. We now know that whatever was causing the weird population cycles is no longer a factor for population. However, this makes me wonder more about what caused the population growth and decline, and what happened to it. Hopefully scientists in Florida will answer these questions soon.

Discusion Questions:

1. Why do scientists not know what caused the population growth and decline of sea turtles?
2. How can we help this population growth continue?
3. How can we support the sea turtles?