Cayman Islands 2004: Loggerhead and Green Turtles

Ferdinand Columbus recounted that the islands were "?full of tortoises, as was all the sea about, insomuch as that they looked like little rocks?" The green turtle population was estimated at over 6.5 million turtles at the time of the discovery, and turtle fishing ("turtling") came to form the basis of the economy and culture of the Cayman Islands.

This historical importance is memorialized in our Coat of Arms and currency, but by the beginning of the 19th century, commercial exploitation had driven the immense green turtle nesting population in the Cayman Islands to the brink of extinction. Wild turtles continue have a central place in the memories and experiences of many of our citizens, but today, only a few dozen nesting sea turtles remain. Where do these endangered greens and loggerheads go after they leave our beaches?