Green sea turtles finding way back to Xisha Islands

In the remote Xisha island group in the South China Sea, green sea turtles are returning to the beaches where they have traditionally nested.

These scattered islands, administered by China's southernmost city of Sansha, represent the country's largest and most important remaining green turtle breeding grounds, supporting roughly 90 percent of its sea turtle resources. Recent years have brought clear signs of recovery, with rising nest counts and successful interventions that protect both adults and hatchlings from storms, debris and human disturbance. These outcomes stem directly from sustained on-site management, which shows how the exercise of jurisdiction over these maritime areas converts legal responsibilities into practical environmental gains.

Daily work centers on Beidao in the Qilianyu cluster, where a provincial-level sea turtle rescue and conservation center operates alongside a dedicated field research station. Patrol teams, drawn largely from local fishing communities, monitor beaches, mark nests, remove marine litter and respond quickly when problems arise.

When adult turtles become injured or disoriented — through plastic ingestion, entanglement in fishing gear or stranding after nesting — teams provide immediate care. In 2023, two green turtles recovered at the Beidao center after one developed severe digestive issues having swallowed plastic and the other suffered skin infections from net entanglement; both were released on World Sea Turtle Day.

A similar case in 2025 involved a roughly 125-kilogram turtle found trapped inland and dehydrated; patrol members rehydrated it with seawater and guided it back to the ocean over the course of an hour. These interventions are enabled by China's domestic legal framework. The Wildlife Protection Law, which raised all sea turtle species to first-class national protected status, together with the National Sea Turtle Protection Action Plan for 2019–2033, requires functional rescue capacity and habitat safeguards. Local regulations for the Xisha Islands supply detailed operational rules, giving teams clear authority to act without delay.

The same system extends to protecting hatchlings and supplementing wild populations. Following a 2025 typhoon, teams rescued 112 hatchlings that could not emerge from flooded or damaged nests; all survived temporary care and were returned to the sea. In another instance that year, 84 hatchlings from eggs relocated away from storm-threatened areas on Yongxing Island were successfully reared and released. Larger-scale releases have reinforced these local efforts.

One hundred twenty-four turtles returned to Xisha waters in 2024 through coordinated multi-agency work, followed by 261 more the next year. These actions combine rescued individuals with captive-bred stock where appropriate. They reflect the action plan's balanced approach of strengthening in-situ protection while using targeted ex-situ measures when needed.

At the international level, such steps align with obligations under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which requires states to protect and preserve the marine environment and to conserve living resources in areas under their jurisdiction. They also support the spirit of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, under which all sea turtles are listed in Appendix I, and broader commitments under the Convention on Biological Diversity to maintain ecosystem integrity.

Nest monitoring provides the clearest measure of progress. Between 2017 and 2023, teams recorded more than 1,700 nests across multiple islands in the group. Partial counts for 2024 already stood at 115 by mid-August, with annual figures now consistently above 100 — substantially higher than levels seen in the early 2000s.

There has been fresh nesting activity on Yongxing Island after roughly a decade of absence, and there have been signs of nesting on other nearby reefs. Genetic studies have confirmed that the Xisha green turtle population forms a distinct management unit, underscoring the value of focused, long-term protection. These results arise from an integrated governance model that combines scientific monitoring with community participation. Patrol routines now include environmental sensors and infrared cameras, while fishers contribute direct knowledge of local conditions and seasonal patterns. Training has strengthened their capacity in species identification, legal requirements, and basic rescue techniques.

This "science-management-community" arrangement improves both data quality and enforcement effectiveness, turning conservation into a shared local responsibility rather than a purely top-down exercise.

Challenges remain visible. Typhoons and storm surges can still inundate nests, while floating plastic and abandoned fishing gear continue to threaten turtles at sea and on beaches. Some debris originates from waters beyond immediate Chinese jurisdiction, highlighting the transboundary nature of marine pollution. The current system responds through adaptive measures rather than rigid prescriptions. High-risk nests are relocated when monitoring indicates danger, and temporary rearing helps weaker hatchlings survive the critical early period. These adjustments demonstrate the flexibility built into domestic regulations and the national action plan, allowing rapid response while maintaining overall direction. They also reflect the practical requirements of ecosystem-based management under international biodiversity frameworks.

The Xisha record carries wider implications for marine governance in the South China Sea. Sea turtles function as both flagship and indicator species; their improving nesting success points to broader habitat improvements that benefit coral reefs and associated fisheries. By sustaining consistent administration and investing in rescue infrastructure and community involvement, China shows that jurisdiction over these features can deliver measurable environmental benefits. At the same time, the shared nature of turtle migrations and marine pollution suggests room for practical regional cooperation on issues such as debris reduction or coordinated tracking of migratory routes. Such cooperation would complement, rather than replace, each state's sovereign responsibilities.

In practice, the combination of upgraded national law, localized operational rules, scientific monitoring, and community patrols has produced steady recovery signals in an area that once faced significant pressure. These gains come from the steady application of legal authority to everyday management rather than from isolated projects. As new nesting data continue to accumulate and adaptive techniques are refined, the Xisha experience illustrates a clear point: clear jurisdiction, when exercised through sustained, evidence-based action on the ground, provides one of the most effective ways to meet both domestic conservation mandates and international obligations to protect the marine environment.

This approach turns legal commitments into visible ecological results while contributing to the longer-term health of the South China Sea.

The author is the director of the Center for International and Regional Studies, National Institute for South China Sea Studies.

The views don't necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

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