Turtle Species Protected Under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) - Office of Protected Resources

Marine Turtle Species Under the Endangered Species Act (ESA)

List of Turtle Species under NMFS' Jurisdiction
(E = "endangered"; T = "threatened"; F = "foreign"; n/a = not applicable*)

Species	Year Listed	Status	Critical Habitat *	Recovery Plan *
Marine Turtles (16 listed "species") Recovery plans for marine turtles are developed and implemented by NMFS and USFWS; the plans have been written separately for turtles in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans (and East Pacific for the green turtle) rather than for each listed species.
green turtle (2 listed populations*) (Chelonia mydas*)
Florida & Mexico's Pacific coast breeding colonies	1978	E	final	final
all other areas	1978	T	final	final
hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata)	1970	E	final	final
Kemp's ridley turtle (Lepidochelys kempii)	1970	E	n/a	final
leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea)	1970	E	final	final
loggerhead turtle (9 listed DPSs) (Caretta caretta) original listing - 1978			final	final
Northwest Atlantic Ocean	2011	T		final
South Atlantic Ocean	2011	T (F)	n/a	n/a
Southeast Indo-Pacific Ocean	2011	T (F)	n/a	n/a
Southwest Indian Ocean	2011	T (F)	n/a	n/a
Northeast Atlantic Ocean	2011	E (F)	n/a	n/a
Mediterranean Sea	2011	E (F)	n/a	n/a
North Indian Ocean	2011	E (F)	n/a	n/a
North Pacific Ocean	2011	E		final
South Pacific Ocean	2011	E (F)	n/a	n/a
olive ridley turtle (2 listed populations*) (Lepidochelys olivacea*)
Mexico's Pacific coast breeding colonies	1978	E	n/a	final
all other areas	1978	T	n/a	final

* NOTE: Critical habitat and recovery plans are not required for foreign species; critical habitat is also not required for species listed prior to the 1978 ESA amendments that added critical habitat provisions.

** These populations were listed before the 1978 ESA amendments that restricted population listings to "distinct population segments of vertebrate species."

Endangered and Threatened Marine Species

Updated: September 14, 2012