Conservation[edit]
The Kemp's ridley sea turtles were on the brink of extinction in the 1960s with low numbers of 200 nesting individuals. Due to strict protection laws that protected their nesting sites in Mexico and altered fishing gear to avoid accidental capture of the Kemp's, the Kemp's ridley numbers have increased to estimated 7000–9000 nesting individuals today. The olive ridley sea turtle is considered to have the most abundant numbers today, estimated as 800,000 nesting individuals. The threats to their survival is loss of nesting habitat, direct harvest of the eggs and adults, and getting caught in fishing gear. Protection of the nesting beaches, changes to the fishing gear, and laws against harvesting the adults and eggs have helped the olive ridley sea turtles numbers gradually increase.
