Protecting sea turtles means protecting Okinawa's ocean.
A sea where turtles thrive is a sea where all life thrives. What began in 2020 with protecting a single nest on a Yomitan beach has grown into a marine conservation effort that protects the ocean and the life it holds. We do this to hand down this beautiful sea, home to the hatchlings who will return to nest 20 years from now, to our children.
Why We Protect Sea Turtles
A beach where turtles can nest and a sea where they can live are healthy environments for other creatures too. That is why protecting sea turtles is the gateway to protecting Okinawa's beaches and seas, and the rich marine ecosystem they support.
Sea turtles are disappearing from the world's oceans
The hawksbill, loggerhead, and green turtles found in Okinawa's waters are all now threatened with extinction. It is said that only one in several thousand hatchlings survives to adulthood.
A beach they return to 20–30 years later
A hatchling born today will return to nest on this beach in about 20–30 years. What we do now literally protects the sea of the next generation.
Learn about our story and mission →
Our Conservation Work in Numbers
We protect nests on the beach, send hatchlings to sea, rescue injured turtles, watch over turtles living offshore, and remove hazards. These five numbers are one continuous effort.
①Protecting nests and eggs through hatching. Every hatched nest is surveyed.
②39 of them were live rescues. We respond around the clock and work to find the cause of death.
③A citizen-science project identifying individual sea turtles in Okinawa.
④Ghost nets take the lives of turtles and marine life, break down into microplastics and become a source of ocean pollution.
① Protect & survey on the beach
Protecting nests and eggs through hatching. Every hatched nest is surveyed.
② Rescue & survey at sea
39 of them were live rescues. We respond around the clock and work to find the cause of death.
③ Research at sea
A citizen-science project identifying individual sea turtles in Okinawa.
④ Protect the sea itself
Ghost nets take the lives of turtles and marine life, break down into microplastics and become a source of ocean pollution.
All-time totals (2020–2026)
Three Areas of Activity
We protect the ocean and the life within it, and share why it matters.
Sea Turtle Protection and Research
We patrol the nesting beaches of central Okinawa, protect nests, and monitor them until hatching. We respond to stranding reports 24 hours a day, and run Japan's first citizen-science photo-ID research on individual turtles.
Learn more →
Protecting the Marine Environment
Over six years we have held more than 100 beach cleanups, and our divers recover abandoned fishing nets (ghost nets) from underwater.
Learn more →
Outreach, Advocacy, and Education
Through bilingual (Japanese and English) school visits and field programs for children through adults, we raise awareness of the marine environment and nurture the next generation of its guardians.
Learn more →A Coastal Nature Reserve and Sea Turtle Rescue Center
Today, we save one sea turtle. But if the natural environment of our beaches and seas keeps disappearing, where will we be able to return that turtle to?
We want not only to save a creature facing extinction, but to protect the very places where its life can go on.
To protect both the lives that need our help today and the natural environment those lives will need tomorrow, and to carry them into the future, we aim to establish a coastal nature reserve and a sea turtle rescue center.
What You Can Do
No one can do everything, but everyone can do something.
Time and Energy
Volunteering, joining beach cleanups, sharing photos and sightings or spreading the word, becoming a member. There are many ways to take part.
See how to get involved →Donate
Nest protection materials, rescue equipment, and tools for education and research all require funding. You can donate by credit card from anywhere.
See how donations are used →Take Action
When someone or something in front of you needs help, do what you can. Even if it has nothing to do with our work, your courage and action connect and become a force for change.
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Daily activity updates and event announcements are posted on our official Instagram.
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