In October 2019, Professor Shi Haitao was awarded the title of "Turtle Warrior" by the Ministry of Agriculture and Wildlife Rescue

Sea turtles play a vital role in the health of the marine ecosystem and are a "flagship species" for marine ecological conservation. However, sea turtles in China are facing a serious survival crisis due to the long-term threat of indiscriminate hunting, illegal trade and marine pollution. In recent years, the number of stranding and injuries of sea turtles has been increasing, but there is a serious shortage of professional organizations and personnel for the rescue and treatment of sea turtles. For this reason, the team took advantage of its expertise to create the first sea turtle rescue station in 2013, which is also the first batch of aquatic wildlife rescue stations in Hainan Province, and is committed to sea turtle rescue and popularization of science through the rescue of sea turtles. Since its establishment, it has rescued more than 500 sea turtles, trained more than 900 volunteers, and volunteered more than 100,000 hours of service. We have organized more than 200 publicity activities such as "Turtle Protection Day" and "Sea Turtle Classroom", receiving an audience of more than 500,000 people, and have published more than 100 scientific articles on sea turtles through our individual WeChat official account.

The Chelonians Rescue Station created by the Centre was recognized as one of the first batch of aquatic wildlife rescue stations in Hainan Province by the Hainan provincial government authorities.