Attending to endangered turtles: a Chinese conservationist's Spring Festival

Huang Cheng spends most of his time with green sea turtles. This year's Spring Festival is no exception.

The fisherman and conservationist who works for a marine life rescue center on the Qilianyu Islands of south China's Hainan Province did not return to his hometown to celebrate the most important traditional festival in the country. Instead, his family joined him on the island.

All because of five injured turtles that otherwise would have been left unattended.

Green sea turtles, one of the biggest hard-shelled sea turtles in the world, is under top class state protection in China and Qilianyu is their largest natural breeding ground within the country, especially the 0.4-square-kilometer Beidao Island also known as the turtle island, a hub for nesting females. 

As of 2023, Huang's center has rescued 102 turtles, most of them injured by plastic garbage or fishing nets in the water. The goal is to help them recover fully before sending them back into the ocean. 

On the New Year's Eve, Huang and his two sons cleaned the turtles' pond and prepared fish and vegetables for the animal.

Green sea turtles are found in warm subtropical and tropical ocean waters around the world. They are named for the layer of green fat that lies under their shell.

China put all five of the sea turtle species that inhabit the country's waters under first-class state protection in 2021 and has been enhancing measures to prohibit the capture and trade of sea turtles and their eggs. Many fishermen like Huang who are familiar with the local environment have been recruited for turtle protection.

(Cover: Green sea turtles at Beidao Sea Turtle Protection Center in Qilianyu Islands, Sansha City, Hainan Province, south China. /CGTN)