Green turtles reclassified from endangered to least concern

Overview

Updated 1 hour ago

On Malaysia's Turtle Islands, green turtle nesting has tripled since the 1970s to more than 20,000 nests a year. Across the species' range, numbers rose enough that the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) moved green turtles off its endangered list in October 2025 and rated them least concern.

The rating covers the species worldwide, not every population. Six of the seven other sea turtle species remain vulnerable or worse, and green turtle populations in the southwest Pacific, the east Pacific and the north Indian Ocean are still below historic levels. Some are declining.

Why it matters

The label is global; the recovery is not. Several green turtle populations still depend on the hunting bans that produced this result.

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Key Indicators

28%

Rise in global green turtle numbers since the 1970s

IUCN's estimate of the worldwide increase behind the reclassification.

173%

Increase in egg clutches at Aldabra Atoll since 1980

Surveys counted more than 15,000 clutches across the atoll in 2019.

20,000

Green turtle nests per year in Sabah's Turtle Islands

Nesting there has tripled since the 1970s, according to Sabah Parks.

8 of 11

Regional green turtle populations rated at low risk

A 2025 assessment found most regional populations stable or improving, not all.

1 in 1,000

Hatchlings that survive to breeding age

Green turtles reach sexual maturity at roughly 20 to 35 years old.

Other sea turtle species still listed as vulnerable or worse

Only the flatback's status is unclear, because of data shortages.

Voices

Curated perspectives — historical figures and your fellow readers.

People Involved

Jeanne Mortimer

Turtle biologist; led nesting surveys at Aldabra Atoll from 1981

Active researcher and conservationist

Maklarin Lakim

Director, Sabah Parks

Oversees the Turtle Islands park off Borneo

Sitti Rasah Abdul

Fisher and cooperative organizer on Omadal island, Malaysia

Runs a self-funded egg relocation program

Sophia Sie

Hotel owner on Mataking island, Sabah

Funds turtle conservation through her business

Gavin Jolis

Marine species strategy manager, WWF-Malaysia

Runs genetic tracing work on turtle populations

Organizations Involved

International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)

International conservation network

Maintains the Red List and issued the 2025 reclassification

A Switzerland-based network of governments and conservation groups that publishes the Red List of Threatened Species, the global benchmark for extinction risk.

WWF-Malaysia

Conservation non-governmental organization

Runs community programs and the Shellbank DNA database

The Malaysian branch of the World Wildlife Fund, which organized hatchery and egg-relocation work with coastal communities and built a genetic tracing system for turtles.

Sabah Parks

State conservation agency, Malaysia

Manages the Turtle Islands park

The Sabah state agency responsible for the Turtle Islands park, protected since 1977, where green turtle nesting has tripled.

Timeline

1968 November 2026

8 events Latest: Today

Tap a bar to jump to that date

November 2026
Report from Sabah's Turtle Islands
Today Report

Al Jazeera aired footage from the Turtle Islands, where nesting has tripled since the 1970s to more than 20,000 nests a year.
Today
October 2025
IUCN moves green turtles to least concern
Conservation status

The Red List downgraded the species from endangered, citing roughly 28% growth in global numbers since the 1970s.
October 2025
2019
Aldabra clutches hit 15,000
Research

Researchers estimated more than 15,000 clutches across the atoll, a 173% increase over 1980.
2019
2012
Omadal women's cooperative starts egg relocation
Community program

A 20-woman group began moving eggs to hatcheries, later funding the work from handicraft and catering sales.
2012
1997
Sabah bans turtle meat and eggs
Policy

The state outlawed consumption of turtle meat and eggs, closing the main local market for the animals.
1997
1981
Aldabra track surveys begin
Research

Jeanne Mortimer started counting nesting tracks, beginning the record that later documented the recovery.
1981
1977
Sabah protects the Turtle Islands
Policy

The three islands off Borneo became a state park, ending unrestricted egg collection on the beaches.
1977
1968
Seychelles bans turtle hunting
Policy

The ban gave Aldabra's nesting females their first lasting safeguard, after decades in which thousands were taken each year.
1968

Scenarios

Green turtle keeps its least concern rating at the next IUCN reassessment

Likely Resolves by End of 2028

Discussed by: IUCN Red List assessors and the conservation groups that submitted the 2025 data

The 2025 rating rested on a 28% global increase since the 1970s and low-risk ratings for 8 of 11 regional populations. If those trends hold, the next global assessment keeps the species in least concern. A sharp decline in a large rookery, such as the southwest Pacific population around Raine Island, would put that at risk.

A government lifts its ban on harvesting green turtles or their eggs

Unlikely Resolves by Nov 14, 2028

Discussed by: Jeanne Mortimer, who wrote four decades ago that evidence of recovery would bring demands to resume hunting

The recovery was built on bans on taking turtles and eggs, and Mortimer warns that a 'least concern' label can make those bans look unnecessary. A single national or state government repealing its ban would test whether the global rating protects populations that are still depleted locally.

Aldabra passes 20,000 clutches in a single season

Possible Resolves by End of 2030

Discussed by: Aldabra researchers, who say nesting may still be below the atoll's carrying capacity

Nesting at Aldabra rose from 2,000 to 3,000 clutches a year in the 1960s to more than 15,000 by 2019, and researchers say the increase shows no sign of flattening. A season above 20,000 clutches would extend a run that already spans five decades.

Historical Context

3 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

1982, effective 1986

Commercial whaling moratorium (1982)

The International Whaling Commission voted to end commercial whaling after centuries of hunting had driven several large whale species close to collapse. Humpback populations in particular had been reduced across the southern hemisphere.

Then

Whaling nations including Japan, Norway and Iceland objected or continued hunting under reservations, so the ban was never universal.

Now

Several humpback populations recovered strongly enough that Australia removed the species from its national threatened list in 2022, while other populations remain endangered.

Why this matters now

A global hunting ban lifted a species' overall status while leaving regional populations in trouble, the same pattern now visible in green turtles.

1972 to 2007

Bald eagle recovery and delisting (2007)

The United States banned the pesticide DDT in 1972 and protected the bald eagle under the Endangered Species Act in 1973. Breeding pairs in the lower 48 states had fallen to about 417 in 1963.

Then

Populations climbed steadily through the 1980s and 1990s as DDT thinned in the food chain and nests were guarded.

Now

The eagle was removed from the endangered list in 2007, when counts reached roughly 9,800 breeding pairs, and it has continued to increase.

Why this matters now

It took 35 years between the pesticide ban and delisting, a reminder that green turtles' 25-to-35-year maturation sets the pace of any recovery.

1994 to 2023

Gray whale delisting and later die-off (1994)

The eastern North Pacific gray whale was removed from the US endangered species list in 1994 after its population rebounded from whaling. Numbers later fell during a series of unusual mortality events beginning in 2019.

Then

Delisting was treated as a completed recovery, and monitoring continued at a lower intensity.

Now

The die-off revived debate over how much margin a delisted species needs before a status change is treated as permanent.

Why this matters now

Delisting is a judgment about current trends, not a guarantee; green turtle watchers make the same argument about the least concern label.