There are seven oceangoing turtle species, and all are listed as endangered under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species. Indonesia, home to six of the seven species, signed the treaty in 1979. The only kind the Balinese like to eat is the green sea turtle. In existence since the time of the dinosaurs, the green can weigh 400 pounds and measure 3 feet in length. It can stay underwater for 30 minutes without coming up for air and is known to travel 1,400 miles from its feeding grounds to its nesting site.
Sea turtles face numerous hazards.
Humans have long hunted the animals for their meat, shells and leather and plundered their eggs for food. At sea, fishing nets trap and drown them. If it is correct that sea turtles are going to go extinct, it is not because of consumption. If the species does manage to thrive, the process will be a slow one. Out of hundreds of eggs, only a few survive to adulthood.