The green sea turtle is no longer considered endangered, according to an update presented at an the International Union for Conservation of Nature, World Conservation Congress in Abu Dhabi in October 2025.
Green sea turtles have recently been demoted to “least concern” on the IUCN’s list of endangered species, something conservationists are extremely happy to hear about after decades worth of work. Leila Fadel, a host from NPR’s Early Edition show stated, “There are about 20,000 endangered species in the world. The green sea turtle is no longer one of them, according to a report by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.” This decision was based on the global population for the green sea turtle increasing by approximately 28%, as a result of the conservationist efforts the community has done.
This work turned around years of declining numbers. Many of the reasons as to why the green turtle species was considered endangered were human-created. the green sea turtle was historically utilized for their meat, eggs, and fat. Additionally scientists point to pollution and changing environmental conditions as reasons for their decline. There are still various ongoing threats to the population of green sea turtles, for example, hundreds of thousands of green sea turtles drown as a result of them being accidentally caught in shrimp trawl nets, on longline hooks and in fishing gillnets. This is also more commonly known as bycatch.
Even while the news of their growing numbers is very encouraging, experts say significant work still has to be done to support the vast majority of green sea turtles. Without the assistance of conservationists, these turtles may once again be included in the endangered portion of the list. Christine Madden, the World Wildlife Foundation’s Global Marine Turtle Conservation Lead, states, “Conservation efforts must continue for green turtle populations to continue to thrive and recover in areas where they remain threatened by fishing gear entanglement, overfishing and loss of habitats.”
