Sea Turtle Ecology
Most divers approach sea turtles the wrong way. Knowing the species makes every encounter more respectful and more meaningful.
Species identification, life history, threats, and how to observe without disturbing. The ecology behind one of diving's most sought-after encounters.
Availability: Contact us for booking information
Most Divers Approach Sea Turtles the Wrong Way. Knowing the Species Makes Every Encounter More Respectful and More Meaningful.
A sea turtle encounter is one of the most requested moments in recreational diving, and most divers cannot name the species they saw, let alone explain why it is best observed from a distance rather than approached or touched. There are seven living species, each with real threats and real conservation stakes.
SSI Sea Turtle Ecology teaches you to identify the seven living sea turtle species, understand their nesting, migration, and physiology, and observe them responsibly. Self-paced academics, with an optional open water application dive. $150. Open to everyone, certified diver or not. Minimum age 10.
This Is Knowledge, Not a Skill Gap
Sea Turtle Ecology is not about being a more advanced diver. It is about finally being able to identify the species you encounter and understand how to observe them without disturbing them.
This course exists to turn one of diving's most sought-after encounters into something you approach with real knowledge, not just excitement.
Is this you?
Sea Turtle Ecology Is for the Diver Who Wants Respectful, Meaningful Encounters
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This is usually the right next step if any of these sound familiar.
You have shared the water with a sea turtle
This course turns that memory into real understanding of which species you saw and how it lives.
Your destinations include sea turtle nesting or feeding sites
Understanding species identification and behavior improves every future encounter.
You want to understand the real threats sea turtles face
From plastic pollution to coastal development, this course covers what is actually driving population declines.
You want to observe without disturbing
This course covers the specific, respectful way to share the water with a sea turtle.
Not sure?
Choose Your Explore-Lane Course
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You want to understand and respectfully observe sea turtles
Best for divers drawn to one of diving's most requested encounters.
You want a different kind of large-animal encounter
Best for divers focused on dolphins, whales, and seals instead.
You want the broader conservation picture
Best for understanding ocean-wide threats and what divers can actually do about them.
Setting the record straight
What Sea Turtle Ecology Actually Covers
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"All sea turtles look the same."
There are seven living species, Leatherback, Green, Loggerhead, Hawksbill, Olive Ridley, Flatback, and Kemp's Ridley, each identifiable by shell shape and scale patterns this course teaches directly.
"It's fine to touch or gently guide a turtle out of the way."
Observing without disturbing is the ecological and ethical standard. This course explains why, and what respectful observation actually looks like.
"Sea turtles aren't really that threatened."
Sea turtle populations face significant natural and human-caused threats: fishing bycatch, coastal development, boat strikes, and plastic pollution among them.
"This is the same as general Marine Ecology."
Marine Ecology covers ocean zones broadly. Sea Turtle Ecology goes deep on one specific, heavily sought-after group.
What You’ll Train
Primarily an academic course, with an optional open water application dive.
The seven living species of sea turtle and the shell and scale features used to identify each one.
Nesting behavior, egg deposition and incubation, and the hatchling's journey from the nest to the sea.
How Loggerhead, Leatherback, and Green turtles migrate differently, and the physiological adaptations, including growing up in salt water, that define a long-lived, late-maturing species.
Natural and anthropogenic threats, from fishing bycatch and coastal development to plastic pollution, and the conservation measures, like turtle exclusion devices, that address them.
An optional dive applying what you have learned, wherever local conditions and marine life allow for meaningful observation.
Course at a Glance
| Price | $150 |
| Format | Online academics via MySSI app · optional open water application dive |
| Prerequisites | None required for academics · Open Water Diver if completing the optional dive · minimum age 10 |
| Certification awarded | SSI Sea Turtle Ecology · lifetime certification, recognized worldwide |
Ready for more meaningful encounters?
SSI Sea Turtle Ecology: $150 · Austin, TX
Self-paced academics, open to every diver. Call (512) 451-3425.
Register Here Call Tom’s Email Tom’sWhere this fits in your pathway
Sea Turtle Ecology Sits in the Explore & Enrichment Pathway
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Explore & Enrichment is about conservation and knowledge, open to everyone regardless of experience level. Sea Turtle Ecology pairs naturally with Marine Mammal Ecology and Blue Oceans for a complete picture of encountered wildlife and the conservation issues around it.
Control / Comfort
Buoyancy, navigation, boat procedures, and other confidence-building skills.
Explore & Enrichment
Marine ecology, sea turtle ecology, and other ways to understand what you are seeing underwater.
Optimize
Nitrox, computers, equipment, and other tools that make diving more efficient once your basics are dialed in.
Why Tom’s Dive & Swim
We Build Divers We Would Trust With Our Own Families.
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The best divers don’t chase certifications. They build capabilities. Identifying sea turtle species and observing them responsibly is a direct example: it turns an already memorable encounter into a genuinely respectful one.
Tom’s teaches ecology with a focus on the encounters divers actually talk about, not abstract theory. Tom’s has been Austin’s only SSI Dive Center since 1982. We were teaching scuba in Austin before any of the other Austin dive shops opened. Over 18,000 certified divers and over 400 five-star Google reviews.
Built Around Encounters Divers Actually Have
Curriculum connects directly to the sea turtle encounters Austin divers experience on travel destinations.
Open Longer Than Any Other Austin Dive Shop Still in Business
Four decades of helping Austin divers understand and appreciate what they are seeing underwater.
No Prerequisites Required
Academics are open to anyone curious about sea turtles, certified diver or not.
One of Austin’s Largest Instructor Teams
Available to answer questions and discuss the material beyond the self-paced curriculum.
We follow DAN dive safety protocols.
Tom’s follows Divers Alert Network (DAN) safety standards and recommends DAN dive accident insurance for every certified diver. Safety is not a checkbox on our website. It is the foundation of how Tom’s has operated since 1982.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Do I need to be certified to take this course?
No. The academic portion is open to anyone. You only need Open Water certification if you choose to complete the optional open water application dive.
How many species of sea turtle are there?
Seven living species: Leatherback, Green, Loggerhead, Hawksbill, Olive Ridley, Flatback, and Kemp's Ridley. This course teaches you to identify each one.
Is it okay to touch a sea turtle if I see one?
No. Observing without disturbing is the ecological and ethical standard, and this course explains what respectful observation actually looks like.
What are the biggest threats to sea turtles?
Both natural threats like predation of eggs and hatchlings, and significant anthropogenic threats: fishing bycatch, coastal development, boat strikes, and plastic pollution.
Can I bundle this with other Explore courses?
Call (512) 451-3425 to ask about current Ecology Class bundle pricing for combining multiple Explore-lane courses.
Book online, call, or email, whichever is easiest for you.