Turtles No Longer Endangered: The Year Felt Heavy, But the Turtles Came Back

When 2025 Felt Like Too Much

2025 has been a crazy year to say the least, and it’s hard to ignore how often people compare it to 2020. Still, even in the middle of that exhaustion, it matters to notice the good things that did happen.

The urge to stay in bed

2025 has been a crazy year to say the least.

Most people online have compared it to 2020 and often post how most days, they just want to lay in bed and never get out.

While I can see where they’re coming from, I’m not going to say that 2025 was nothing but pure misery as some good things did happen and I believe they should be acknowledged.

For more on why rest and downtime matter, see Rest Is Productive: Why Sleep & Downtime Are the Secret For High Performance.

Research on maintaining optimism during turbulent times is also discussed by Harvard Health.

A Win Worth Acknowledging

Even after decades of loss and pressure, green sea turtles have had a real recovery moment. This section holds space for the threats they faced, and the steady work that helped reverse the decline.

Saved from the brink

One of them was that the green sea turtles have been saved from the brink of extinction!

For more than 40 years, green sea turtles were often considered an endangered species for a couple reasons.

One of them was hunting of the animals and harvesting of their eggs for food as well as destroying their nesting beaches to make way for new beaches by seaside developments.

Many have also been accidentally ensnared in fishing gear or fatally choked by plastic debris.

But, it doesn’t mean all hope has been lost as decades of conservation efforts have helped reverse the species’ decline.

Earlier in October, the International Union for Conservation of Nature gave reports that the global population of green turtles has increased nearly 30 percent since the 1970s, all thanks to a suite of international actions aimed at saving the animals.

The Protections That Helped Turn It Around

The turtle comeback didn’t happen by accident—it reflects protections, laws, and community effort repeating year after year. This section focuses on the actions that helped reduce harm and protect nesting grounds.

From bans to better fishing gear

Bryan Wallace, the coordinator of the IUCN marine turtle specialist group said, “The overall global increase absolutely reflects effective, consistent conservation work by thousands of people for decades at literally hundreds of locations around the world.”

Since the 1970s, a web of protections has given their support to the animals’ recovery.

One of the examples being International bans being placed on the commercial trade of sea turtles.

Also, national laws have been increased to prohibit fishing for them and their eggs to be served as food.

A number of community-led initiatives have been aimed at guarding the turtles’ nesting beaches from poachers and rising seas that threaten to flood their nests.

Also, specialized gear such as turtle-excluder devices have been developed to help reduce turtles caught in fishing nets.

These metal grids are fitted into the back of trawlers focused on catching shrimp and other fish to allow large animals to escape if they’re caught.

For an overview of how turtle-excluder devices work in trawl nets, see NOAA Fisheries.

Why the Red List Update Matters

Behind the headlines is the work of tracking nesting grounds, hatchling success, and the threats that keep piling up. This section walks through how the IUCN assessments shape what “risk” means for a species.

Tracking extinction risk

The IUCN’s marine turtle specialist group has also been compiling global data on the animals’ nesting grounds and hatchling success rates to estimate their populations.

They have also gathered comprehensive information about the compounding threats the turtles face and how to prevent them.

Scientists from the group submit their research to the IUCN so that the organization can update their Red List of Threatened Species.

The Red List tracks the extinction risk of more than 170,000 animals, plants, even fungi.

Each species is assigned to one of nine categories, ranging from “least concern” to “extinct,” based on its population trends and the severity of threats it faces.

Currently, 48,600 of the listed species are threatened with extinction.

In the 1980s, there were so few green turtles left after years of having been commercially harvested they were listed by the IUCN as endangered, a designation indicating a very high risk of extinction.

But in IUCN’s most updated red list, the green sea turtle is reclassified as least concern and increasing.

When the comeback was announced at the ICUN in Abu Dhabi, it was hailed as a milestone for marine conservation.

Coverage of the latest IUCN Red List update, including green sea turtles as a bright spot, is reported by AP News.

Carrying That Hope Into 2026

This ending holds two truths at once: there is still work to be done, and this recovery is a sign that things can turn for the better. It’s also a reminder to stay creative, hopeful, and to embrace the good days when they show up.

Embrace the good days when we can

In conclusion, while there is still work to be done, I see the sea turtles’ increase in population and more protection laws for them as a sign that things are starting to turn for the better especially considering how important marine life is in the world.

I should also say that for the start of every new year, it’s important to remain optimistic.

While 2025 has been a rough year for many, we should never submit to misery as that is the last thing that anybody should have.

While I’m unsure of what the future will bring us, I do know that we should embrace the good days when we can and make sure that we stay creative, hopeful and make 2026 the best year we possibly can.

On staying creative and choosing small gestures that ripple outward, see It Started With a Single Note. It Ended With 443.

For practical ideas that can help the days feel a little lighter, see Simple Ways To Brighten Your Winter Days.

Works Cited

The sources below reflect what informed the details in this piece, including the broader context of good news in 2025 and the conservation milestone for green sea turtles.

Sources

Varvaloucas, Emma. “What Could Go Right? 50 Great Things That Happened in 2025.”

The Progress Network, 18 December 2025

What Could Go Right? 50 Great Things That Happened in 2025

Tomassoni, Teresa. “After Decades of Protections, Green Sea Turtles Have Been Saved From the Brink of Extinction—for Now.”

Inside Climate News, 31 October 2025

After Decades of Protections, Green Sea Turtles Have Been Saved From the Brink of Extinction—for Now

The ICUN Red List of Threatened Species

https://www.iucnredlist.org/en

Wallace, B.P. & Broderick, 2025. “Chelonia mydas(Green turtle)”

ICUN Red List, Assessed: 09 December 2024 Year of Publish: 2025

https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/4615/285108125

Image credit: WikiMedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Green_sea_turtle_%28Chelonia_mydas%29_Moorea.jpg