Reptile
Green Sea Turtle
Chelonia mydas
Photo: USFWS · French Frigate Shoals, Hawaii (Public Domain)
The Green Sea Turtle is one of the most ecologically important marine reptiles in the Caribbean, acting as the primary grazer of seagrass beds that sustain some of the most productive coastal ecosystems in the region. Found in the coastal and offshore waters of Trinidad and Tobago, with nesting documented on beaches on both islands, the green turtle is fully protected but remains under pressure from hunting, entanglement, and habitat loss.
Named not for the colour of its shell, which is typically brown or olive, but for the greenish hue of its fat tissue, the Green Sea Turtle is a large reptile with adults typically measuring 100–120 cm in carapace length and weighing between 100 and 230 kg. Its smooth, streamlined carapace and powerful front flippers make it a strong swimmer capable of crossing entire ocean basins. Adult green turtles are primarily herbivorous, grazing on seagrass and algae in shallow coastal habitats, while juveniles are more omnivorous, feeding on jellyfish, invertebrates, and other small prey before transitioning to a plant-based diet.
As grazers, adult green turtles maintain the health and productivity of seagrass beds by cropping the blades and preventing senescence. Healthy seagrass habitats in turn support manatees, juvenile fish, and a vast range of coastal invertebrates. In Trinidad and Tobago, green turtles forage in seagrass beds across the Gulf of Paria, the Columbus Channel, and the waters around Tobago. Nesting occurs on a number of beaches on both islands, including Fishing Pond, Matura, and selected Tobago beaches. Females return faithfully to the beaches where they hatched, navigating by the earth's magnetic field to find their natal shore after years at sea.
The Green Sea Turtle is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List and on CITES Appendix I. In Trinidad and Tobago, it is fully protected under the Conservation of Wildlife Act (COWA) and is not a game species. Key threats include hunting for meat and eggs, entanglement in fishing gear, vessel strike, ingestion of plastic debris, and the ongoing degradation of seagrass feeding habitats through pollution, sedimentation, and coastal development.
Why This Matters
The Green Sea Turtle is the primary grazer of seagrass beds in the Caribbean, and seagrass is one of the most productive and least appreciated ecosystems on Earth. Seagrass meadows sequester carbon at rates comparable to terrestrial forests, produce oxygen, stabilise sediments, filter coastal water, and function as nursery habitat for a large proportion of the commercially important fish species that feed Caribbean populations. When seagrass is healthy, fish populations are healthy. When green turtles are healthy, seagrass is healthy. The chain is direct.
Green turtles are named for the colour of their fat, which comes from the seagrass and algae they consume. They are, in the most literal sense, a living product of the coastal ecosystems they also maintain. In Trinidad and Tobago, they forage in the Gulf of Paria, the Columbus Channel, and the waters around Tobago year-round. Their presence in those waters is a sign that the seagrass beds are intact; their absence is a warning. As adults, green turtles can live for 80 years or more, returning decade after decade to the same feeding grounds and nesting beaches, carrying the memory of those places encoded in their biology.
These animals are Endangered globally and fully protected under Trinidad and Tobago law. Hunting them, collecting their eggs, or destroying their feeding habitat is a crime against both the law and against the communities whose food supply depends on the coastal productivity these animals sustain. Protecting them is not a special interest; it is basic ecological self-interest.
Threats to Survival
- Hunting (meat and eggs)
- Entanglement in fishing gear
- Habitat loss (seagrass degradation)
- Vessel strike
- Plastic ingestion
- Coastal development
- Climate change affecting nesting sites
Seen a Green Sea Turtle?
Sighting records help us track population status and distribution. If you observe this species, please report the location, date, time, and any photos to WEPTT.
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