April 20, 2016 — Slow and steady won the race, at least for a few green sea turtles.
U.S. officials announced early this month that breeding populations in Florida and on the Pacific coast of Mexico are off the endangered list.
They will be re-classified as “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act, which means they are no longer immediately threatened by extinction but still merit protection under the act.
“It’s just like the manatees. Even though the turtles have been downgraded, it won’t affect them as far as enforcement goes,” FWC spokesman Bobby Dube told Florida Keys Keynoter.