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NEWS
Rare turtles found on South Wales beach
Glamorgan beach is final resting place for critically endangered marine turtles more at home in Gulf of Mexico >>More
Washed up turtles
Rare turtles found on UK wintry beaches, MCS urges beach walkers to look out for turtles over the festive period >> More
Thank you Maldives Scuba Tours!
Thank you Maldives Scuba Tours for using our Christmas E-card and donating their usual spend to help save our seas. >> More
Tracking Turtles in the TCI
Track sea turtles in the Turks and Caicos Islands, as featured on BBC Midlands Today. Click here for details >> More
Lazy boys and busy girls
Our Turks and Caicos Island tagged turtle boys and girls are sending back interesting information >> More
Be a turtle friendly tourist
Follow the MCS advice and ensure your faraway beach holiday won't have a negative impact on marine turtles >>More
MCS team returns from World Conference on Marine Biodiversity
They return with the message that the incredible research in the field must be used as a basis for change and improvement. >> More
Sign up today and track our teenage turtles
Be part of live scientfic research and follow the lives of three young turtles around the Turks and Caicos Islands >>More
Proposed Marine Conservation Zones announced
We welcome the announcement of 127 potential Marine Conservation Zones around England's coast. >> More
Leatherback turtles arrive in UK waters
Whilst leatherback turtle populations face extinction in the Pacific and Indian Oceans, many nesting populations in the Atlantic appear to be increasing. >> More
Marine turtles are endangered
Turtles are an ancient group of reptiles that have witnessed the rise and fall of the dinosaurs, with the earliest marine turtle fossils dated at about 110 million years old! Seven species of marine turtle now swim our oceans and all are included on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Endangered Species. Some marine turtle populations around the world are in danger of extinction. Unsustainable exploitation, accidental entanglement in fishing gear, marine pollution and habitat destruction are all to blame.
What needs to be done?
MCS believes that we humans should learn how to live in the marine turtles’ world without endangering them. While we cause problems for turtles, we can also provide the conservation solutions, so MCS strives for a people-centered approach to marine turtle conservation and management.
MCS in Action
The MCS Marine Turtle Conservation Programme works in the UK and overseas to find out more about how to protect these spectacular ancient mariners. We coordinate conservation research in the UK and the UK Overseas Territories in the Caribbean, and educate a wide audience about marine turtles and their conservation needs. We promote the reporting of turtles in UK waters, and distribute the UK Turtle Code and support the rescue and rehabilitation of live turtles stranded on UK shores.
Please report your turtle encounter at our wildlife sightings page.
Click here to download a pdf of the UK Turtle Code
