A green turtle

Turtles in Turks and Caicos

The Turks and Caicos Islands Turtle Project is a longstanding initiative to improve the management of the islands’ traditional marine turtle fishery.

    Our work in Turks and Caicos

    Working with initially skeptical turtle fishing communities, we helped to create new regulations with balanced and fair recommendations to improve the sustainability of the turtle fishery.

    The recommended regulations were approved by the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) government and endorsed by the fishing communities, and came into force in July 2014.

    These new regulations respect traditional rights to this resource, but provide protections for large and breeding adult turtles to support population recovery in the TCI and wider Caribbean region.

    2 men talking while sitting in a boat on a beach

    Amdeep interviewing fisherman in Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos Islands  |  Image credit: Tommy Phillips

    We continue to work with TCI fishing communities as part of this project, and are reviewing enforcement and compliance with the updated regulations. Through evaluating this impact, we’ll be able to inform the TCI government's next steps for the turtle fishery and improve enforcement protocols where necessary, ensuring TCI’s turtle populations are safeguarded for future generations to come.

    You can read more about our latest work in the Turks and Caicos through this blog on our funders' website, the People's Trust for Endangered Species.

    Tracking turtles

    As part of the project, we’ve attached satellite transmitters to 26 green and hawksbill turtles. Suzie, an adult green turtle, was the first turtle to be tagged in 2009. She surprised everyone by taking an incredible and record-breaking 6,000 km round trip across the Caribbean over the course of nine months before returning home to TCI.

    We also studied “teenage” green turtles. Results from tracking 20 teenage turtles have highlighted the value of a specific Marine Protected Area in the TCI for the regional health of these populations.

    Marine Conservation Society staff and local partners about to release a satellite-tagged teenage green turtle  |  Image credit: Amdeep Sanghera

    As part of this project, we work with the Turks and Caicos Islands Government Department of Environment and Coastal Resources (DECR), the University of Exeter, Duke University (USA), as well as local partners.

    What you can do

    A scene showing an underwater/surface split with a moon jellyfish below the water and scenes of Loch Leven's surrounding hills above. The sky is thick with cloud.

    Report a marine turtle sighting

    We want to hear about the wildlife you spot at the coast and at sea, especially marine turtles and jellyfish in UK and Irish waters.
    A green sea turtle swimming along the Great Barrier Reef off Australia. The turtle is looking and swimming toward the camera.

    Find out about turtles in the UK

    Marine turtles have been around for millions of years and play a vital role in balancing marine ecosystems, especially controlling jellyfish numbers.