The Price They Pay for Your Perfect Vacation Photo

Scientists are concerned about unregulated feeding of ocean wildlife by tour operators.

It took nearly three months, but Jody Pinder eventually succeeded. Endangered green sea turtles, usually shy, skittish and satisfied with a diet of sea grass and algae, were accepting handouts of squid that he and other local tour operators were providing at Bottom Harbor in the Bahamas. “If you don’t feed them, they won’t come close enough for you to see them and photograph them,” Mr. Pinder said. Before the pandemic, Mr. Pinder and others had been selling this assured adventure to a booming population of tourists. Day after day, boats would flock to Bottom Harbor and tourists would hop into its shallow turquoise waters holding squid morsels in their hands or on wooden skewers. The turtles would then grab the snacks as the visitors snapped Instagram-worthy images.