Book Review: Voyage of the Turtle

It's not every day that a prominent marine scientist publishes a compilation of engaging tales about the trials and tribulations of conservation around the world.  But that is just what Carl Safina has done in the Voyage of the Turtle: In Pursuit of the Earth's Last Dinosaur.  Readers follow Safina onto nesting beaches, up in helicopters, and into conversations with countless sea turtle experts along the Pacific and Atlantic coasts.  As a successful author and ocean advocate, Safina is among those exemplary scientists such as Sylvia Earle who effectively engage audiences for a cause.  Founder of the Blue Ocean Institute, Safina inspires the public to learn about conservation, sustainable seafood, and climate change through literature and art.

In the Voyage of the Turtle, Safina shows readers the complexities of conservation projects focused on one of our world's most charismatic and unique species.  The leatherback turtle represents one of the oldest evolutionary links to prehistoric creatures and is the only surviving species of its genus.  The largest of all sea turtles, the leatherback's soft carapace allows it to dive deeper than any whale into cold waters of the world's oceans.  Its life history traits and dispersed nesting areas create conservation challenges on both coasts of the U.S.  

The future of these animals is inextricably linked to human activities in that survival depends greatly on successful conservation initiatives.  A surprising recovery along the Atlantic coast contrast a worrisome and dramatic decline in the Pacific.  Safina highlights cases of unexpected consequences, such as turtles selectively nesting on Florida beaches in front of hotel resorts that have instituted low light policies because those areas are actually darker than the nature reserves that have the city's distant glow in the background.  From shrimp fishermen in the gulf to helicopter surveys in the mid Atlantic, Safina's flowery metaphors remind readers to appreciate the beautiful places and animals that people work so hard to use sustainably.  All-in-all, a good read for anyone looking to learn more about the successes and challenges of ongoing sea turtle conservation!

Visit the Sea Turtle Conservancy or ask our very own Katrina Phillips to learn more about our worlds turtles, where they go, and what we still don't know about them!