Clovis, Tanya. - WIDECAST

Clovis, Tanya. 2005. Sea Turtle Manual for Nesting Beach Hotels, Staff, Security and Tour Guides. Developed by SOS Tobago with
assistance from the Wider Caribbean Sea Turtle Conservation Network (WIDECAST). Sponsored by the Travel Foundation. Tobago.
1000 yards from the high water mark of the foreshore where there is no reef”. However, it
is impossible to distinguish an immature turtle by sex, this law is currently under review.
(and most turtles caught in our waters are Greens and Hawksbills, and are immature), and
it is very difficult to prove exactly where the turtle was caught, as such
Where do they mate
All sea turtles mate at sea. Leatherback males start arriving in tropical waters up to a
month before nesting begins and leave in mid-season to return to colder regions. The male
mounts the female, and sometimes several males will vie for the attention of the female.
The female stores the sperm from several pre-season matings and will use it to fertilize her
many eggs throughout the breeding season.
Where do the babies go
The juvenile years of a sea turtle are often referred to as the “lost years” because so little is
understood about this critical phase of life. Studies suggest that many swim directly to the
Sargasso Sea (mid-Atlantic gyre) or other areas of convergent currents where they can hide
amongst the seaweed and other flotsam while developing the strength and size to venture
further afield. Most young turtles seem to eat anything at first and their diet becomes more
specialized when they return to the habitat that they will inhabit for the rest of their life;
e.g., reefs for Hawksbills and seagrass beds for Greens. Juvenile Leatherbacks are very
rarely reported in nearshore waters, and there is no scientific information on the
whereabouts of the post-hatchlings stages.
L. Kirkland
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