Our Sea Turtles

In the waters of the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua are 4 of the 7 species of sea turtles. All need protection and we are trying to raise consciousness in our community. Come with us and talk to your people about the sea turtles and the threats that they have. We all can make a difference! Here, we introduce you our sea turtles:

HAWKSBILL

Hawksbill turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata) are also known as “tortuga carey” in Spanish, and “axbil” in miskitu. They are common in the Pearl Cays and they lay in the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua, mostly in the Pearl Cays and at the El Cocal beach (close to the border with Costa Rica). They can reach up to 4 ft (aprox. 80 kg). The scutes on their carapace overlap and they have a long bill. They eat sponges that grow between rocks in coral reefs.

Here in Caribbean Nicaragua people still kill them to make jewelry out of their scutes, and sometimes they also eat the meat.

 

GREEN TURTLE

Green turtles, Chelonia mydas, are also called tortuga verde in Spanish and “lih” in miskitu. They get their name for the colour of the fat they have attached underneath their carapace. They can weigh up to 200 kg aproximately. Green turtles have a hard shell and their scutes don’t overlap, as it does on hawksbills. They eat sea grass and algae. The biggest green turtle population in the Atlantic Ocean feeds in the waters off Caribbean Nicaragua, where they find big areas covered with sea grass. Even though they are common in Nicaragua, they only lay in small numbers at El Cocal, close to the border with Costa Rica.

Here in Caribbean Nicaragua people kill them to eat their meat and also sell the meat and make a profit.

 

LOGGERHEAD

Loggerheads,, don’t nest in Nicaragua but they are found in our waters eating crabs, molluscs, shrimp, etc. Caretta caretta is their scientific name. Their name in spanish is “tortuga cabezona”, and miskitus call them “lagrit”. They can reach 4 feet. This species has the biggest head from the rest of turtle.

In our region, fishermen don’t look for them but they sometimes catch them in turtle net and gill nets. Sometimes fishermen knock them strong in the head when releasing them from the net because they are afraid they would bite them. People here don’t eat their meat and they don’t use their shell.

 

LEATHERBACK

The leatherback is the less common species in Caribbean Nicaragua. We call them trunk turtle and spaniards call them baula or tora. Miskitus call them “lih sicksa”, which means black turtle. The scientific name is Dermochelys coriacea. This is the biggest sea turtle alive, and it can weigh up to 1000 pounds (450 kg). In the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua, they only nest on El Cocal beach, near the border with Costa Rica. Trunk turtles have 7 ridges on their back and their back is not as hard as the rest of sea turtles. Instead, their shell is made up of many small bony plates enbedded in a leathery covering. This covering provides leatherbacks with some protection but also give the body flexibility to help in diving to great depths. The trunk turtles eat sea bladder.

Here, fishermen don’t look for them but sometimes they get trap into the nets. At the El Cocal beach, some people still take their eggs to eat or sell.