Based in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, The National Save The Sea Turtle Foundation’s mission is to support researchers, educators, and conservationists that focus their energies on ensuring the future of the world’s sea turtles. Since 1987, the Foundation has worked tirelessly to develop educational outreach and student programming, promote public awareness of Florida’s marine ecosystems, and support innovative sea turtle research both in the United States and abroad. More recently, the Foundation’s newly developed scholarship programs have supported dozens of aspiring young scientists in Florida and elsewhere as they work toward their undergraduate and graduate degrees.

The Foundation is also proud to be the home of the Florida Hawksbill Project, which is now in its 20th year. This project was conceived and initiated by Dr. Larry Wood, long-time South Florida sea turtle expert, and remains the first and only in Florida to focus solely on this Critically Endangered species. Though much has been learned about how sea turtles use Florida’s beaches for nesting, very little remains known about how they live in and interact with Florida’s diverse marine habitats. In response, this study continues to compile valuable information on the population structure, genetic diversity, and ecology of hawksbill turtles residing in Florida waters, which has significant regional importance as the cooperative effort continues to recover populations of hawksbills and other sea turtles in the Wider Caribbean. Additionally, due to their close association with coral reef habitats and their status as a protected species, hawksbill turtles are emerging as an important flagship species for coral reef conservation.

This concept was recently brought to real-life in the case of a resident hawksbill turtle on the reefs adjacent to the Town of Palm Beach in central Palm Beach County, Florida. Local scuba divers had noticed that the turtle’s front flipper had unfortunately become entangled in fishing line and was severely damaged. Since it is common for young hawksbills to remain in a fairly small territory for extended periods of time, the Hawksbill Project team knew that it was likely that this turtle could be encountered again not far from where it was seen. Shortly thereafter, a coordinated effort among the Hawksbill Project Team and the scuba diving community was launched to find this turtle, now known as ‘Bella’ for the young lady who helped retrieve her, and within days she was being cared for by our friends at the Loggerhead Marinelife Center in Juno Beach, Florida. Her flipper was beyond repair, ultimately resulting in its removal, but she was very strong and recovered quickly. After only a few short months in captivity, she was released back to her home, where we hope she’ll successfully continue growing to adulthood.

Bella’s plight was not a one-time event. Her story only brings to life the constant threat that fishing line and other forms of marine debris present to all the creatures that reside on the reefs, and inspired the National Save The Sea Turtle Foundation to coordinate an annual reef cleanup event. They were overwhelmed by the positive response, and in short order organized 8 dive boats and 150 divers who ended up collecting over 750 lbs. of debris in just one morning! The interest and enthusiasm among the dive community after the first event has encouraged the team to work even harder for the second annual event, scheduled for April 25th, 2025, which will include divers cleaning reefs all the way from Martin through Miami-Dade Counties! We encourage you to get involved – cleaner seas benefit us all!