A Sea Full of Turtles: The Case for Optimism in the Epoch of Extinction

In this stimulating report, nature writer Streever (In Oceans Deep) recounts traveling around Mexico’s Gulf of California to interview the fishers, nonprofit directors, scientists, and volunteers who are working to protect endangered sea turtles. Surveying the threats facing the reptiles, Streever notes that the black market for turtle meat has boomed since Mexico banned its consumption in 1990, that beachgoers sometimes unwittingly crush buried nests underfoot, and that tens of thousands of sea turtles are estimated to die each year after getting trapped in fishing nets and drowning. Among those striving to save the turtles are veterinarian Elsa Galindo, who runs a program that relocates nests away from well-trafficked beach areas, and Agnese Mancini, a scientist who evaluates the effectiveness of turtle hunting bans for a nonprofit organization. Streever sometimes drifts off topic, going on tangents about his fondness for Jainism (a religion that espouses an extreme form of “do no harm,” to the extent that some adherents refuse to step in puddles for fear of killing microbes) and whether it’s unethical for humans to continue reproducing at current rates. Still, the profiles of individuals leading conservation efforts offer reason for hope even as they make clear the direness of the sea turtle’s situation. Animal lovers will be galvanized. Agent: Jill Marr, Sandra Dijkstra Literary. (July)