Marine turtle populations around the globe are threatened through over-harvesting and habitat loss. In the Gulf region, marine turtles have provided food at a subsistence level to fisherman and coastal dwellers since time immemorial. Evidence of this dates back five thousand years! Turtles have also been used traditionally for their fat and meat, and their eggs have fed families dependent on the bounty of the sea. But with increased coastal use and industrialization, and the advent of outboard motors and access to distant markets, the loss of turtles and their eggs has reached a level from which populations are struggling to recover. Turtle eggs, which used to be collected on an occasional, irregular basis, are now collected nearly every single time a nesting female emerges on the beach. Of even greater concern is the increased coastal development - industrialization and urbanization have resulted in severe habitat loss and alteration, and industrialised fisheries, which decimate turtles while at sea, continue to grow. Today, critical measures are urgently needed to safeguard the few remaining turtle nesting sites, their feeding and breeding sites at sea, and their migratory pathways.