Marine mammals and sea turtles comprise 62 of the 163 marine species currently under protection of the ESA. The Center for Biological Diversity collected annual population figures for the sixty-two species to determine trends and magnitudes of population changes. To focus their observations, the research team chose 23 representative populations of fourteen mammal species, and eight samples of five turtle species. All of them breed in US territorial waters, and have been listed under ESA since before 2012. Their results are impressive, and lay waste to exploiters' claims that ESA does not work and should be revised, if not discarded altogether. More than three-fourths of the studied populations showed substantial increases in size. Only two protected marine mammal populations showed declines.
The species showing increase in numbers were those enjoying legal protection for twenty years or more, once again contradicting complaints that once listed remains there in perpetuity. In fact some species have been de-listed after recovery. Case studies of successful rebounds include the Hawaiian humpback whale, western Stellar sea lions, and North Atlantic green sea turtles. [photo] The authors note that for green sea turtles, “ESA regulations have led to fishing gear modifications, major changes in fishing practices, time and area closures, and the establishment of
turtle exclud[ing] devices for shrimp trawlers." They conclude, “Our results also support previous studies that highlight the capacity of marine mammals and sea turtles to rebound from decades of exploitation after coordinated national and international conservation efforts.” Too bad Nature does not work fast enough to suit greedy capitalists anxious to plunder the Earth's remaining treasures.