The reefs were teeming with green sea turtles!
The three photos that I contributed to this month’s underwater album all came from snorkeling adventures on my honeymoon. Jill and I got married in November, and we quickly made our way to Maui. There we spent 10 days taking in the sun, the hikes, the waterfalls, the beaches, and the ocean. I taught Jill how to snorkel, and we saw some amazing wildlife while we were below the water.
On our first snorkel of the trip, we saw our first sea turtle! I had only ever seen one other sea turtle in all my snorkeling and diving, so I was beyond excited. We quickly discovered that the reefs near the South Shore of Maui were used by the green sea turtles for resting, eating, and getting their shells cleaned by wrasses.
Since returning from our trip, I learned that the green sea turtle is considered Endangered by IUCN, but only Threatened according to the U.S. Federal Endangered Species Act. It is believed that there are between 85,000 and 95,000 nesting females globally. Since the green sea turtle is found throughout the temperate and tropical waters of the world, it is no surprise that their populations are impacted differently globally.
In parts of the United States, they have seen their populations rebound successfully; whereas in Australia, the green sea turtle has struggled to produce enough males. This may be in part to the rising temperature of the Great Barrier Reef Region. Since green sea turtles have temperature-dependent sex determination, not as many males are born due to the higher temperatures.
The green sea turtle is considered Endangered
The population of green sea turtles in Hawaii has increased by 5% per year for 20 years
Hawaii has had great success with their green sea turtle population. The population there has been increasing by 5% per year during the last two decades. The honu (Hawaiian for “green sea turtle”) is a major focus of ecotourism. Students at the Hawaii Preparatory Academy tag green sea turtles each year, and to date they have tagged thousands of turtles.
Fun Facts
- Green sea turtles are the largest of the hard-shelled turtles. They grow to 3-4’ in length and typically weigh between 240 and 420 pounds.
- Green sea turtles are not named for the color of their shell but for the color of their fat.
- They are the only sea turtle that is herbivorous as an adult.
- The average lifespan of a green sea turtle is 80+ years.
- Females typically nest once every two years laying up to 200 eggs
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[…] in a number of snorkel adventures here and at the south end of the beach. We saw everything from sea turtles to eels and from humuhumunukunukuapua'a to sea […]