Turtles have roamed the oceans for at least 185 million years. Fossils of sea turtles date back to the Jurassic period - the very start of the dinosaur's domination of the Earth. But in recent years the numbers of sea turtles have decreased so rapidly that the most common seven species are now threatened with extinction.

This week Earth Report travels to the oceans around Oman - one of the last havens for endangered sea turtles.

The oceans: haven or hell?

Oman's 1,700 kilometres of coastline stretching along the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Gulf is rich with marine life and its seas provide a refuge for one of the world's most important populations of sea turtles.

Five out of the seven most common species of sea turtle, the Green Turtle, Loggerhead, Hawksbill Turtle, Leatherback and Olive Ridley Turtle, nest on Oman's beaches. On the island of Mas-irah alone, over 30,000 Loggerhead Turtles nest in the months of May and June producing over three million eggs per year. But even with these seemingly staggering numbers only around one turtle in every 3-4,000 will survive into full adulthood.

Nature's obstacle course

From nesting to hatching, bringing the next generation of turtles into the world is an exhausting and dangerous business. In water, turtles are extremely agile. On land, they're slow and vulnerable.

Female turtles will return to within a few hundred metres of the same spot where their mothers made their nest in the sand. It's a fatiguing process. Once a female has dug a body pit, laid and buried her eggs, she must begin her slow journey back to the sea almost drained of energy. In her wake she leaves between 50 to 200 eggs.

Now begins one of nature's most punishing trials of life. The eggs - and later the hatchlings - are a prized meal for an army of predators.

It can take newly born turtles up to seven days to dig their way to the surface. And in their dash to the sea they must run one of nature's most savage gauntlets. A hatchlings first few minutes out of the nest are perhaps its most dangerous. Most emerging in the daylight don't make it to the sea - crabs, foxes, and sea birds are just a few of the predators waiting for an easy meal. Those that emerge at night fare better.

Cruel it may be, but the fact that the turtle has survived from the time of the dinosaurs shows that turtle and nature have struck a fearful symmetry. A symmetry that is being exclusively destroyed by man.

Upsetting the balance

According to the UN Environment Programme's Cambridge based species monitoring unit, Leatherbacks, Loggerheads, Greens and Olive Ridley Turtles are all classified as 'endangered', while the Hawksbill turtle is classified as 'critically endangered'. And humans are solely responsible.

In the last hundred years consumption of turtle products has put five of the seven marine turtle species at risk. In Oman, turtle fishing is strictly prohibited but in Indonesia sea turtle products are readily for sale. In some countries sea turtle eggs are believed to be aphrodisiacs and Green turtle meat and soup are considered gourmet cuisine.

But even where fishing for turtles is banned or severely restricted, thousands of turtles become entangled in fishing nets and are accidentally drowned every year. As a result, the numbers of sea turtles are diminishing rapidly.

Restoring the balance

In 1973, 116 countries signed the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species Treaty, or CITES, which regulates the trade and protects all species of sea turtle. Many countries also passed domestic fishing laws which banned all commercial exploitation of turtles. In Oman, hunting and egg collection are officially not permitted.

Now scientists in America have also found a way for their fishing industry and sea turtles to coexist. The National Marine Fisheries Service has spent millions of dollars developing a Turtle Excluder Device - or TED - which can be fitted to shrimp trawling nets. With a TED fitted, the shrimp pass to the back of the net while the turtles are able to escape via a metal grid. Since 1989, American law requires that the device be installed on the nets of all U.S. fishing trawlers working in areas populated by sea turtles. Fishermen caught trying to sell shrimp ensnared without the TED have their shrimp catch seized and are written a ticket.

Initiatives such as the TED in America and Oman's endeavours to protect their turtle population, give rise to significant advances in the fight to save sea turtles. But national laws alone will not save the turtles as these far-ranging creatures simply don't recognise political boundaries. Their future conservation needs to be an international priority.

After aeons of survival, sea turtles may now tragically fall victim to the heavy hand of human greed and exploitation. If humans can not find a way to coexist with these creatures, in no time at all, we may wipe out nearly two hundred million years of existence.