MARINE TURTLES AND TERRAPINS 657 



United States in 1945, show that the industry is only of shght importance. Cuba, 

 Yucatan, Mexico, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and the West Indies possess the largest 

 turtle fisheries. In Brazil many turtles are caught near the mouth of the Amazon 

 River. 



Table 146. Production of Turtles and Terrapin, 1945. 



Source: U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 



The Green Turtle Fishery 



The green turtle (Chelonia mijdes) is the only true marine turtle that is com- 

 monly eaten. Its fat is a greenish color, and this characteristic has given it its 

 popular name. The shields of the carapace are smooth and are brown, mottled 

 with yellow and fringed with white or yellow. Although the shell is attractively 

 colored, it has no commercial value. This turtle attains a length of 3 to 4 feet 

 and a weight of 300 to 500 pounds. It is omnivorous, but feeds largely on a 

 marine vegetation known as turtle grass. This turtle lives almost entirely in the 

 sea and never comes ashore, except on brief trips to lay its eggs. As the plastron 

 is not rigidly constructed, it will not support the weight of the turtle when it is on 

 land; because of this the turtles soon die if they are not turned on their backs 

 when out of the water. The excessive weight of the body on the circulatory and 

 respiratory organs causes its death by smothering. 



The chief green-turtle fishery of the United States is in the vicinity of Key West, 

 Florida. At present, chiefly because of overfishing, the catch of green turtles on 

 the Florida coast is very small and many more are caught in the West Indies and 

 off the eastern Nicaragua and Costa Rica coasts. However, practically all of the 

 green turtles shipped into the United States are first landed at Key West. 



The catching of sea turtles is largely a vessel fishery, schooners or sloops being 

 employed. The most popular form of gear is the gill net. The fishing season is 

 from March to September, inclusive. Many female turtles are caught when they 

 come onto the sandy beaches to lay their eggs. This has the effect of reducing 

 the population when they are taken before the eggs are laid. 



Key West Turtle Industry. Shipments of live turtles are made to New York on 

 coastwise steamships, and are usually consigned to Fulton Market, from which 

 they are distributed to other centers. New York imports only part of its green- 

 turtle supply from Key West as many are brought by steamship directly from the 

 West Indies and Central America. The turtles vary slightly in value according to 

 size: Those under 100 pounds command the highest price, while those 200 pounds 

 and over receive the lowest. In 1948 imports were 794,429 pounds of live turtles 

 of all species, valued at $56,933. 



One dealer and one cannery handle all of the green turtles brought into Key 

 West. The turtles are landed by schooners, known as "turtle boats," and are placed 

 in pens made of closely spaced palmetto logs; they are able to live indefinitely 



