At Oceanic Society, we believe that sea turtles are more than just marine icons; they’re vital sentinels of ocean health, ambassadors of community-driven conservation, and living evidence that long-term efforts can yield real results. This past year has been one of significant advancement for our global sea turtle program, and we’re proud to share a look back at the milestones, partnerships, and impact that defined 2025.
Global Grants Awarded to 20 Projects
In early 2025, we announced support for 20 sea turtle conservation projects worldwide, the latest round of grants under our SWOT Grants program, which has now supported 180 projects in 57 countries. Through these grants, we backed frontline efforts, from community-based nesting surveys to bycatch mitigation and plastic pollution interventions, amplifying capacity in regions where turtles face the highest risk. Read more about the grantees and their work here.
Oceanic Society awarded 20 grants to sea turtle conservation programs in 2025, including 4 targeting Critically Endangered Kemp’s ridley sea turtles, as pictured here.
Fresh Data, Stronger Evidence that Conservation Works
The April publication of “Updated global conservation status and priorities for marine turtles” in the journal Endangered Species Research was a landmark moment in sea turtle conservation science, resulting from a long-term international collaboration led by the Oceanic Society team. The publication highlighted encouraging trends across multiple populations and demonstrated that targeted interventions are producing measurable gains. The results provide the most detailed roadmap to sea turtle conservation ever produced, helping to guide research and conservation efforts everywhere. Explore the full analysis here.
Training Sea Turtle Conservationists in Behavioral Science
Recognizing that human behavior drives many of the threats to sea turtles and yet many conservationists lack the training and tools to effectively motivate changes in behavior, we hosted the third annual behavior change training workshop in Ghana at the 43rd Annual Sea Turtle Symposium. In collaboration with our Team BEACH initiative, we equipped conservationists with tools to design high-impact campaigns in their local contexts. Learn more about the workshop here.
Together with partners from Human Nature Group, we hosted a behavior change training workshop in Ghana that was attended by 40 sea turtle conservationists from more than 20 countries, including 14 West African conservationists whose participation was fully funded by Oceanic Society.
Building Conservation Capacity in Western Africa
In March, we helped make history by funding travel and participation for 14 sea turtle practitioners from across western Africa to attend the 43rd Annual Sea Turtle Symposium in Accra, Ghana, the first time in history that this conference was held in Africa. The participants joined our “Creating Behavior Change Campaigns for Sea Turtle Conservation” workshop, where they applied behavioral-science frameworks to real conservation challenges, including bycatch mitigation in Cameroon, reducing tourism impacts in Benin, and strengthening population protection efforts in Ghana. Grantees were also able to participate in the full week-long Symposium, where they made invaluable connections with other conservationists, learned about the latest in sea turtle conservation, and shared their work with a global audience. Learn about all of the grantees here.
Publication of the 20th State of the World’s Sea Turtles (SWOT) Report
This year, we celebrated the publication of the 20th volume of the SWOT Report, our flagship global review of sea turtle science, monitoring, and conservation. The special 20th Anniversary report—an Atlas of Global Sea Turtle Status (2025)—presents the results of more than two decades of work to assess the status of sea turtles worldwide in a richly illustrated, user-friendly format that will help guide conservationists for years to come. Explore the full report at seaturtlestatus.org.
Green Turtle Status Upgrade: A Conservation Win with Caveats
Another major milestone this year: the green sea turtle was officially reclassified from Endangered to Least Concern on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. As managers of the IUCN-SSC Marine Turtle Specialist Group (MTSG), Oceanic Society played a coordinating role in this assessment process. While we celebrate this achievement, we also recognize that we must stay vigilant: many green turtle populations remain depleted, and continued conservation investment is essential. Read the full story here.
Protecting Sea Turtle Habitats Through the Global Ocean Cleanup
During this year’s 2025 Global Ocean Cleanup, led in partnership with Sea Turtle Week, we supported marine and coastal cleanups of sea turtle habitats worldwide. The campaign involved 54 coastal cleanups across 25 countries, mobilized nearly 2,000 volunteers, and removed 94,920 pounds (47.4 tons) of marine debris. These cleanups directly support nesting beaches, foraging zones, and migration corridors for sea turtles. Read the full results here.
A volunteer from the organization TunSea in Tunisia returns a loggerhead turtle to the sea after participating in the 2025 Global Ocean Cleanup, during which thousands of pounds of trash were removed from critical sea turtle habitats.
New Educational Video Released: Sea Turtles 101
In September 2025, we launched a new video, Sea Turtles 101: All About Sea Turtles, produced by our SWOT Program supported by Seiko. Available on YouTube, this animated educational short introduces viewers to the seven living sea turtle species, their remarkable life cycles, the threats they face, and how conservation efforts are making a difference. The video is part of our ongoing commitment to provide science-based educational information about sea turtles that inspires conservation action. Watch the video here.
Launch of Sea Turtle Naming Program
This year, we launched our new Sea Turtle Naming Program in partnership with the community organization Nature Seekers in Trinidad. The program offers supporters a unique way to contribute to conservation by symbolically adopting or naming a sea turtle, including the opportunity to name a satellite-tracked leatherback. Each naming directly supports field-based conservation efforts, from nesting beach protection to community outreach, while giving participants a personal connection to a turtle’s journey. Learn more here.
Looking Ahead to 2026
As we move into 2026, our priorities include:
- Further expanding our grants to support high-priority field-based conservation programs in underserved regions
- Providing behavior-change training and support in more regions through Team BEACH
- Producing and publishing the 21st Annual SWOT Report featuring the latest in sea turtle conservation
- Continuing to build and share the SWOT database of sea turtle biogeography
- Offering expeditions to see sea turtles and other spectacular ocean species.
Join The Movement
Every year of progress is built on the commitment of individuals and communities that care for sea turtles and ocean health. Here are a few ways you can engage:
- Sponsor or adopt a sea turtle through Oceanic Society’s Adopt A Sea Turtle program
- Sign up for our 7-Day Fight Plastic Waste Challenge
- Join a trip to see sea turtles in the wild and support local conservation efforts
- Share this article and invite others to learn about sea turtle conservation
2025 has been a year of milestones, with notable sea turtle conservation successes. Together, through research, community partnerships, and action, we continue advancing toward a future where sea turtles thrive and the oceans they inhabit remain vibrant. Thank you for being part of this journey.
Support Sea Turtle Conservation
Make a donation today and help keep the momentum for sea turtles going. Your donations are doubled through December 31, 2025!
