In a recent tragic incident in the Philippines, three people lost their lives and over 30 others were hospitalized after consuming a stew made with marine turtle meat. This tragic event is not an isolated incident, with the consumption of sea turtle meat leading to over 2400 known cases of illness and 420 fatalities worldwide since 1900.

Of the migratory species listed under the Convention on Migratory Species, 64 are aquatic mammals, 54 are fish, and 9 are reptiles, covering many diverse species such as whales, sharks, and turtles. Their migratory ranges include rivers, estuaries, beaches, seagrass meadows, coral reefs, coastal zones, the open ocean, deep-water trenches, and seamounts - to name but a few. They occur in all climatic zones, all oceans, and many inland water systems. The threats they face are manifold and include overexploitation, habitat loss and degradation, pollution, and climate change.

by Summaiya Abid and Shoaib Abdul Razzaque, WWF-Pakistan

By Maximilian Polyak, DVM, MPhil, CertAqV & Claire Petros, BVSc, MRCVS