The Bermuda Turtle Project has revealed that three turtles originally tagged in Bermuda in the 1990s have been seen on nesting beaches in Costa Rica and Mexico, each bearing titanium tags that were put on them during turtle tagging sessions by the Bermuda Turtle Project.
“These results demonstrate the linkage between young green turtles that grow up in Bermuda waters and Caribbean nesting beaches that are thousands of kilometers away,” explained Dr. Anne Meylan, who, along with husband Dr. Peter Meylan, serve as the project’s scientific directors. “They also show the long period of time it takes for green turtles to reach sexual maturity – some 30 years or more.”
Research into Bermuda’s green turtles began in 1968 by Dr. H.C. Frick, a trustee of the Caribbean Conservation Corporation, and continues to this day under the Bermuda Turtle Project, which is a joint effort between the Sea Turtle Conservatory, the Atlantic Conservation Partnership, the Bermuda Zoological Society, and the Bermuda Aquarium, Museum and Zoo.
Through the years, more than 3,500 turtles have been captured, tagged, and released, providing data on the island’s juvenile green sea turtle population. Turtles tagged in Bermuda have also been recovered in Nicaragua, Panama, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Grenada, St. Lucia, and the United States.