Green Sea Turtle Painting by Tom Blodgett Jr

Green Sea Turtle

by Tom Blodgett Jr

Canvas Print

Framed Print

Art Print

Poster

Metal Print

Acrylic Print

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Greeting Card

Original - Sold

Price

Not Specified

Dimensions

20.000 x 14.000 inches

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Title

Green Sea Turtle

Artist

Tom Blodgett Jr

Medium

Painting - Watercolor

Description

Not only does the sea turtle grazing help proved the necessary nursery conditions for many forms of fish, shellfish and crustaceans, but the eggs that the turtles deposit also provides nutrients to coastal and inshore areas from the ocean. As a result, fish, shrimp, lobster, and sharks are more abundant in areas where larger numbers green sea turtles graze the plants of the sea floor. Sea turtles provide the vital function of regularly transferring nutrients to the upland coastal habitat.

Sadly, plastic bags are often mistaken for the seaweed and jellyfish that sea turtles consume. These petroleum based non biodegradable bags are as deadly to the turtle as they are ubiquitous in our daily lives. They are increasingly found as the cause of death through blockage of the digestive system, cutting short the sometimes 80 year lives of these creatures.
Pollution in the Pacific lies in the public domain. As a result, it is not accounted for because it is not owned. The only profit to be made is at the expense of the oceans and its inhabitants, such as the sea turtle. This is a perfect example of how easy it has become to overlook the impact that the products in our daily lives have on the wildlife that supports us (turtles support the abundance of many kinds of sea life upon which we depend). We do not focus on the turtle that dies from that last plastic bag we used.

Interview with Jeff George, Curator for Sea Turtle, Inc.:
Sea Turtle, Inc. is an organization that was founded in 1977. Sea Turtle, Inc.'s mission is to rehabilitate and release sick or injured sea turtles, to aid in conservation programs in Texas and around the world, and to educate the public about sea turtles.

1-You are a trained mathematician and a retired steel industry manager. How did you come to working with sea turtles?

In the fall of 1991, I became a stay-at-home Dad to home school my children. As a community service project we started volunteering with Sea Turtle, Inc. and The Turtle Lady, its founder. As a child, I was interested in the oceans and wanted to be an oceanographer but living in Pittsburgh in the 1950's and 60's limited my horizon. This became my opportunity to work within the marine science world and I quickly began to love sea turtles.

2-Sea Turtle, Inc. runs the south Texas program to protect nests and hatchlings. How does the organization go about protecting the nests and the hatchlings?

The organization patrols the southern 50 miles of Texas to locate sea turtle nests. Each nest is relocated into a protective area and monitored through incubation. Hatchlings are then safeguarded as they make their journey to the ocean. Many of our hatchling releases are open to the public to further create public endorsement for their protection.

3-What have been the effects on the Sea Turtles thus far from the Oil spill?

In Texas, we have not seen a major impact of the BP oil spill on sea turtles. We have not seen any oiled turtles in south Texas, nor have we seen any oil or tar balls on our beaches. The fear that is being scientifically analyzed this summer is if there are any signs of the oil or dispersants in the nesting females or their eggs.

4-Sea Turtle, Inc. filmed a Kemp�s Ridley story with the Discovery Channel in October that should air in the summer of 2011. Would you mind telling us a bit more about this?

This Discovery show will air on May 20. Because we work with the Kemp's ridley sea turtle considered the world's most endangered species, many nature shows want to film them. This is a light hearted show about two brothers that explore the world of reptiles (and other animals). One brother is a veteran at working with reptiles--the other a city boy. We tagged and released a sub adult Kemp's ridley off of a Coast Guard boat during 8 to 10 foot seas. It was a rough trip and the only one that didn't get sea sick was the city boy. (And the turtle of course)

5-What are the changes that you�ve seen in sea turtles, whether behavioral, psychological, or otherwise that you�ve seen in your time working with sea turtles? How has pollution played a role in these changes?

The biggest change I've seen in 20 years is the population growth. We see more nesting turtles, more injured turtles, more turtles swimming in the wild so it's a very good trend. More injured turtles are a natural trend with more in the local habitat, but we're also seeing more human impacts. Trash ingestion fishing line entanglements are way up in terms of % of our rehab turtles.

6-What is the most pressing need for sea turtles that is not being addressed?

The most pressing need for sea turtles in general is that we continue to work globally at protecting their nesting habitat and keeping people from poaching nesting turtles and their eggs. Second, we must work with the fishing industry to reduce gear entanglement. We must convince the long line fishing industry to use turtle safe hooks. We must also continue to work with the trawl industry at fine tuning the turtle excluder devices they have used for two decades.

7-What can the public do to help protect the sea turtle?

The public can support sea turtles in many ways. Keeping our oceans free of trash, supporting sea turtle legislation, funding sea turtle conservation, are just a few ways. But the most important thing for the public to do is to teach their children that we are stewards of the oceans and we can't just sit back and watch. We are all responsible and each person can make a difference.