Turtle recovery
Green sea turtles, whose global population is categorised as endangered and declining by the IUCN Red List, are thriving once again in the Seychelles, following 50 years of conservation efforts. Once considered a delicacy, fated for soup tureens on European banquet tables during the 18th and 19th centuries, they were hunted to near-extinction in parts of the western
Indian Ocean. In 1968, after surveys revealed no nesting activity whatsoever on isolated Aldabra, the largest atoll in the Seychelles, the area was designated a nature reserve. Researchers monitoring the recovery of the turtles have revealed that the local breeding population, which has remained protected from human influence, has since increased by roughly 500 per cent.