Outside the Southeast Asian region, Chan said the population of sea turtles had also plunged. Less than 100 green turtles can be found in Ogasawara, Japan, after 1,800 adult green turtles are killed each year. The number of longgerhead turtles in Cape Island in the US has also dropped from 3,000 in 1970s to 500 now. In the US, she said about 55,000 turtles were killed in prawn trawl nets and 21,000 turtles died in Japanese tuna long lines in high sea operations. Chan said damage done to sea turtle habitats was also shrinking turtle population.
Mankind destroys the natural habitats through anchoring, dredging, dynamiting and bottom trawling.
In view of this, she said, intensified efforts must be made to save the sea turtles and find ways to improve their population around the world. The turtles have ecological values which we cannot ignore. They help to keep the balance of the eco-system as well as to cycle nutrients by transporting the substances from rich feeding grounds to nutrient poor nesting sites.