A brief history of turtle soup and its role in ensuring we protect turtles today

Ahead of World Sea Turtle Day, Ashley Coates looks at how a fondness for turtle meat led to a global industry and turned a once common sea creature into an icon of conservation

A green turtle swims through the pristine waters of the Great Barrier Reef (iStock)

Interfering with turtles today can land you in a lot of trouble. The urge to play with them is too much for some tourists but can carry a hefty fine, as two US citizens found out in 2017.

After posting an image with a turtle captioned: “Missing the time we risked a $20,000 (£15,700) fine to catch a sea turtle with our bare hands”, they were roundly criticised on social media and fined within the actual limits of the US Endangered Species Act – $750 for picking up a Hawaiian green turtle.

It is a remarkable change in attitude considering it wasn’t long ago turtles were a central ingredient in a tomato-based soup that was hugely popular in many parts of the world, particularly the US, UK, the Caribbean and China.