Bermuda Turtle
Project

For more than 50 years, the Bermuda Turtle Project has been at the forefront of sea turtle research, conservation, and education. Through groundbreaking scientific studies, international collaboration, and hands-on training, the project has helped advance our understanding of juvenile sea turtles while contributing to their protection throughout the Atlantic and Caribbean region.

BTP Hotline to Report Turtles in Need:
441-293-2727 Press #999

Bermuda's Sea Turtle History

Bermuda was once home to a large population of nesting and foraging adult green turtles. Despite legislation introduced in 1620 to protect juvenile green turtles from harvest, hunting pressure on adults continued to increase. By the end of the 1700s, the green turtle population had declined so dramatically that commercial harvesting was no longer profitable.

Unfortunately, the conservation law failed to protect the breeding population, and by 1870 there was no longer any evidence of green turtles nesting in Bermuda.

Today, the seagrass meadows and shallow reefs of the Bermuda Platform continue to provide important foraging habitat for juvenile green turtles (Chelonia mydas) and hawksbill turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata) that were born elsewhere in the Atlantic and Caribbean.

The Origins of the Bermuda Turtle Project

The Bermuda Turtle Project (BTP) traces its roots to the work of Dr. Archie Carr, widely regarded as the pioneer of modern sea turtle conservation, and Dr. Henry Clay Frick, who had a residence in Bermuda.

Together, they envisioned Bermuda playing a role in Operation Green Turtle, a Caribbean-wide initiative aimed at restoring green turtle populations throughout the region. The effort was led by the Caribbean Conservation Corporation, the world’s oldest sea turtle conservation organization, now known as the Sea Turtle Conservancy (STC).

In 1968, Dr. Carr and Dr. Frick partnered with the Bermuda Government to transport approximately 25,000–30,000 green turtle eggs from Costa Rica and Suriname to Bermuda in an effort to re-establish a nesting colony. The project resulted in more than 16,000 hatchlings emerging on Bermuda’s beaches and successfully making their way to sea.

At the same time, they launched the Bermuda Turtle Project’s capture-mark-recapture research program, making it one of the longest-running continuous sea turtle research and conservation programs in the world.

Research and Conservation

As one of the first scientific studies focused on juvenile sea turtles in their developmental habitat, the Bermuda Turtle Project continues today as a partnership between the Sea Turtle Conservancy, the Bermuda Zoological Society (BZS) and the Atlantic Conservation Partnership (ACP). The project’s mission is to conserve sea turtles through research, education, and collaboration. Research efforts focus on the benthic developmental stage—a critical period in a turtle’s life when juveniles grow from the size of a dinner plate to nearly adult size.

The Bermuda Turtle Project also works closely with the Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre at the Bermuda Aquarium, Museum & Zoo to assist in the treatment and rehabilitation of sick and injured sea turtles.

Over the course of the program:

More than 5,000 green turtles have been captured, tagged, and released.
Researchers have collected valuable data on:
- Growth rates
- Sex ratios
- Size distributions
- Habitat preferences
- Genetic relationships
- Migration patterns

Turtles tagged in Bermuda
have later been recovered in:

Cuba

Costa Rica
Dominican Republic
Grenada
Haiti
Mexico

Nicaragua
Panama
Saint Lucia
Trinidad
Venezuela
United States

Education and Training

The Bermuda Turtle Project delivers a two-week in-water sea turtle conservation course each year through the Bermuda Zoological Society. The course helps build regional capacity for endangered sea turtle management by providing practical training to:

Marine
biologists

Conservation
officers

Resource
managers

University
students

Since 1997, the program has welcomed participants from more than 40 jurisdictions, creating a strong network of professionals dedicated to sea turtle conservation.