The Wide World of Contemporary Studies: How COVID-19 is Aiding Endangered Leatherback Turtles and What it Could Mean for Tourists

With the pandemic occurring, many people are being forced to stay indoors, only allowed to go out to get the essentials. This is leaving many without jobs, family-run businesses having to permanently close, and an increase of those filing for unemployment. The Corona Virus has been infecting many, leading to their deaths. The situation at hand is horrible but there is a silver lining.

While many people are staying home and practicing social distancing, many animals have started to increase in numbers, one of them being the leatherback turtles, which is labeled as an endangered species. In Phuket, Thailand, Kongkiat Kittiwatanawong reports to CNN in this article that there have been 11 nests found on their beaches. Kittiwatanawong adds that “If we compare to the year before, we didn't have this many spawn”. David Godfrey, who is the Executive Director for the Sea Turtle Conservancy, adds on in this article that it takes roughly 60 days for a sea turtle to hatch.

So why are there so little of them that they are labeled as endangered? Well, Kittiwatawong continues, saying that “turtles have a high risk of getting killed by fishing gear and humans disturbing the beach”. Because of the shelter in place orders, however, there’s been a decrease in human interaction and those at the beach. This allows these turtles to nest in areas they previously couldn’t. However, in Florida, they’re deciding to reopen beaches with the intent of just exercising.

This means an increase in the number of people at the beach and even if they aren’t there to sightsee, this still can lead to turtles being unintentionally harmed. Not only that, but Phuket is a major tourist attraction that is currently on lockdown. The main reason why these turtles have returned to the beaches of Phuket is because of the lack of people there currently. When Phuket inevitably lifts the lockdown orders, these turtles most likely will become a tourist site, with many wanting to see, touch, take photos of or with, or even take these turtles. Thus would lead to more money going to the hotels and transportation needed to get there. This creates a cycle: if these turtles continue to return to these beaches to nest, more tourists will pay to see them. And if the number of turtles goes down or they stop nesting there, fewer tourists will be going for that reason, leading to a decrease.

This connects to the course theme of "what are the challenges and benefits of the historical trend towards economic and environmental interdependence?”. These turtles can create a direct correlation to the number of tourists. The more “turtle” tourists there are, the more the money is spent to go to the Phuket beaches. The fewer turtles, the fewer “turtle” tourists, meaning less money spent there.

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