16/06/2026
🐢 Happy World Sea Turtle Day
Sea turtles are often recognised as flagship species, but their ecological importance extends far beyond conservation.
Green turtles (Chelonia mydas) are among the few large marine herbivores and play a critical role in maintaining seagrass ecosystems. By grazing seagrass meadows, they promote new growth, improve nutrient cycling and help maintain habitat structure for fish and invertebrates. Healthy seagrass meadows are also important blue carbon sinks, storing carbon in sediments for decades to centuries.
Hawksbill turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata) contribute to the health of coral reef systems through their feeding behaviour, helping to regulate sponge populations and support reef biodiversity.
Many sea turtle species undertake migrations of thousands of kilometres between feeding grounds and nesting beaches, linking coastal and offshore ecosystems and providing valuable insights into ocean connectivity, habitat use and environmental change.
For the underwater technology community, understanding these relationships relies on the tools, data and expertise that enable marine observation, habitat mapping and long-term environmental monitoring.
The more we learn about our oceans, the more we discover how closely ecosystem health, biodiversity and human activity are connected.
