Help our Sea Turtles

© Troy Mayne

Make a donation to help protect our marine turtles

© naturepl.com / Solvin Zankl / WWF

Sea turtles have roamed the world’s oceans for more than 100 million years, but it’s taken humans just 200 years to push them to the brink of extinction.

Marine turtles, ancient mariners that traverse our oceans, are globally endangered or vulnerable - including all the species found in Aotearoa New Zealand.

New Zealand has five of the seven species of marine turtles. 

Greens, hawksbills, leatherbacks, olive ridleys and loggerheads - all of those turtle species found in the Pacific are also found in our waters.  

They desperately need your help.

 

Please make a donation today to help protect our turtles.

© Jürgen Freund / WWF

What is pushing them to the brink of extinction?

We are.

They are being killed or injured as a result of direct human impacts.

 

  • Dying from eating our plastic waste, being entangled in plastic pollution and discarded fishing gear.
  • Being caught by commercial and recreational fishers, and being struck by boats and propellers.
  • Habitat degradation, changes in ocean temperature and currents, and extreme weather events (storms) caused by climate change are also affecting the survival of our sea turtles.
© naturepl.com / Solvin Zankl / WWF

How your donation helps

Your donation will help New Zealand’s marine turtles by supporting our work to protect and restore the ocean. You will be helping us to advocate for:

 

You can also help protect our sea turtles by keeping an eye out for them on the water, especially if boating or fishing.

And by reporting injured or stranded turtles, and all turtle sightings to turtles@doc.govt.nz or the Department of Conservation emergency hotline 0800 DOC HOT (0800 362 468).