Turtles are harvested for food, leather, and jewelry, and small turtles are sometimes stuffed for 

 curios. Boat and ship strikes, and incidental capture in commercial and recreational fishing gear 

 are also factors that adversely affect recovery. 



SPECIES BIOLOGY 



Adult green turtles are the largest of the hard-shelled turtles. Average carapace length and mass 

 of nesting females range from 92 cm and 1 10 kg to 109 cm and 182 -kg. On average, adult males 

 are smaller than adult females. The carapace is smooth and colored grey, green, brown and 

 black. The plastron is yellowish white. An adult male can be easily differentiated from an adult 

 female in that the male has a thick prehensile tail that extends far beyond the posterior margin of 

 its carapace. Green turtle hatchlings weigh approximately 25 g and measure approximately 50 

 mm in length. The hatchling carapace is colored blue-black and the plastron is creamy-white. 



Green turtles begin inhabiting shallow coastal waters when they reach approximately 30-40 cm. 

 At this stage and through adulthood, green turtles are benthic herbivores that feed on seagrasses 

 and macroalgae. Age at sexual maturity is estimated at 24-50 years. 



Green turtles are distinguished from other sea turtle species by the presence of a single pair of 

 large prefrontal scales between the eyes, a strongly serrated lower jaw-, non-overlapping carapace 

 scutes, and four pairs of costal (lateral) scutes. The common name "green turtle" specifically 

 refers to the color of the animal's fat. 



SPECIES DISTRIBUTION 



In the southeastern United States, green turtles are found around the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto 

 Rico, and the continental U.S. from Texas to Massachusetts. Important feeding grounds in 

 Florida include Indian River Lagoon, the Florida Keys, Florida Bay, Homosassa, Cr>'stal River, 

 Cedar Key, and all nearshore Atlantic and Gulf waters from Cape Canaveral to Tampa. The 

 primary nesting sites in U.S. Atlantic waters are along the east coast of Florida, with additional 

 sites in the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. 



Green turtles are found throughout the North Pacific, ranging as far north as Eliza Harbor, 

 Admiralty Island, Alaska, and Ucluelet, British Columbia. In the eastern North Pacific, green 

 turtles have been sighted from Baja California to southern Alaska. In the central Pacific, green 

 turtles can be found at most tropical islands. In U.S. Hawaiian waters, green turtles are found 

 around most of the islands in the Hawaiian Archipelago. The primary nesting site is at French 

 Frigate Shoals. 



MAJOR IMPACTS 



Impacts in the nesting environment 



In the United States, harvesting of nesting green turtles and egg poaching is infrequent. 

 However, in other parts of the world, harvesting of nesting turtles and egg poaching is a serious 

 threat. Animal predation of eggs and hatchlings is also a concern. 



Artificial lighting can cause disorientation or misorientation of both adults and hatchlings. Green 

 turtle hatchlings are attracted to artificial light, which disrupts their natural sea-finding behavior 



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