Numbers fluctuate vvdth losses of nesting 

 beaches to storms or development. Thus, it is 

 difficult to predict trends. According to A. F. 

 Carr (personal communication), persons inves- 

 tigating green turtles around the world are con- 

 cerned with the apparent decline in total numbers. 



REPRODUCTION 



Breeding season varies with locality: 



Michoacan Coast, Mexico .... May to September 



Tortuguero, Costa Rica June to November 



Shell Beach, Guyana March to August 



Bigi Santi, Surinam February to August 



Aves Island March to December 



Florida April to July 



(Hirth 1971, Rebel 1974). 



Nocturnal nesting occurs at 2-, 3-, or 4-year 

 intervals (Carr and Ogren 1960, Hirth 1971). As 

 many as seven clutches are laid in one season, 

 with renesting occurring at 9- to 13-day intervals. 

 Carr and Ogren (1960) plotted returns of turdes 

 at Tortuguero in 1956 through 1959 and observed 

 that renesting was usually within 1.5 km of the 

 previous site. 



Clutch size varies from 75 to 200 eggs with in- 

 cubation taking from 48 to 70 days, depending 

 on beach and water conditions (Carr and Hirth 

 1962). Hatchlings generally emerge at night with- 

 in a period of 48 hours (lUCN 1968, Rebel 1974). 



Animals are believed to reach maturity in 4 to 

 6 years in tropical waters and 5 to 13 years in 

 temperate waters. Hirth (1971) estimates survival 

 rates to maturity to be 1% to 3% of the hatch- 

 lings. A. F.Carr (personal communication to L.H. 

 Ogren 1975) estimates survivorship in Costa Rica 

 to be about 0.1% of the hatchlings. 



Copulation occurs near the nesting beach 

 (Bustard 1973). Whether the female stores sperm 

 for successive laying seasons has not been deter- 

 mined. Photographs of courtship and mating 

 appear in Booth and Peters (1972). 



MANAGEMENT AND CONSERVATION 



Carr (1969) has made several suggestions for 

 protection of the green turtle: Export of turtle 

 products should be discontinued and catches for 

 local use should be strictly supervised. No turtle 

 boats should be permitted to operate off the 

 northern 20 km of Tortuguero Beach. The sale or 

 storage of calipee in Costa Rica should also be 

 prohibited. 



The Survival Service Commission (1969) sug- 

 gests that setting aside Ascension, Astove, Aves, 



Aldabra, Jabal Aziz, Sabah Turtle Islands, and the 

 French Frigate Shoal as turtle islands could help 

 stabilize turtle populations in those areas. 



Marquez M. (1976) recommends formation of 

 several natural reserves for the coast of Mexico, 

 which include the major Mexican sea turtle nest- 

 ing sites. Two reserves, Playa de Rancho Nuevo, 

 Tamaulipas State, and Isla Contoy, Quintana Roo 

 State, are green turtle nesting areas. 



Cayman Turtle Farm, Ltd., has made exten- 

 sive efforts at captive breeding. At present, the 

 farm is dependent on natural stocks of eggs, and 

 according to Hirth (1971), the project cannot be 

 considered a complete success until it is indepen- 

 dent of those sources. Some biologists suggest 

 that such a project may never be ecologically or 

 economically efficient. Others are concerned that 

 turtle production could increase demand and thus 

 increase the pressure on natural stocks (Ehrenfeld 

 1974). 



Hatcheries operate in Australia, Malaysia, 

 Mexico, United States, and other countries. These 

 and similar efforts to curtail natural predation 

 could have a beneficial impact on numbers. 

 Stocking has been attempted in many areas, but 

 there have been no indications of definite success. 



Green turtles are legally protected to varying 

 degrees in the following places: Mexico, Costa 

 Rica, Panama, Surinam, French Guiana, Ascen- 

 sion Island, Trust Territory of the Pacific, Tahiti, 

 Fiji Islands, Kingdom of Tonga, Australia, Sara- 

 wak, British Indian Ocean and Seychelles Islands, 

 Israel, South Africa, Europa Islands, and the U.S. 

 (Pritchard 1969, U.S. Department of Commerce 

 1976,43 FR 32800-32811). 



Most populations are hsted under Appendix I 

 of the Convention on International Trade in 

 Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora; 

 commercial trade is subject to strict regulation, 

 and both an export and import permit are neces- 

 sary for trade by participating countries. Austra- 

 lian populations are listed under Appendix II, 

 which requires export permits for trade in those 

 populations. 



AUTHORITIES 



George H. Balazs 

 University of Hawaii at Manoa 

 Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology 

 P.O. Box 1346, Coconut Island 

 Kaneohe, HI 96744 



