The IUCN SSC Marine Turtle Specialist Group is a global network of scientists and conservationists operating under the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Species Survival Commission. It plays a central role in setting global conservation priorities for sea turtles, assessing species’ extinction risk for the IUCN Red List, and publishing regional conservation status reports.

For anyone researching the conservation status of a specific sea turtle species or region, MTSG’s regional reports and assessments are a foundational resource.

State of the World’s Sea Turtles (SWOT), a program of the Oceanic Society, compiles global data on sea turtle nesting sites, population trends, and threats into an annually published report and an interactive global atlas.

SWOT’s datasets and maps are widely used by researchers, policymakers, and conservation organizations — including many listed in our Organizations Directory — to identify priority nesting beaches and track long-term population trends.