Sea Turtles - what you need to know

Belly rubbing sea turtle On your next dive holiday to Indonesia you will definitely bump into at least two types of sea turtles, the Green Turtle and the Hawksbill Turtle.

We get both types of these sea turtles at all of our dive locations in Indonesia.

To ensure that you get the most out of your encounter with these beautiful and gentle creatures here is some facts about them, some tips on how to tell them apart and some pointers on how to interact with them.

Quick facts about sea turtles

Sea_turtle_nest_sign_(Boca_raton,_FL) Sea turtles are reptiles and there are seven species:

the smallest sea turtle is Kemp’s Ridley that is 30inches long and weighs about 40kh
the largest sea turtle is the Leatherback that can reach over six and a half feet long (over 1.8m) and weight over 900kg!
they can live for up to 80years
they eat jellyfish, seaweed, crabs, shrimp, sponges, snails, algae and mollusks
globally, the Kemp’s ridley, and hawksbill sea turtles are listed as “Critically Endangered”, the loggerhead and green as “Endangered”, the olive ridley and leatherback as “Vulnerable”
biggest threats are beach development that can destroy breeding grounds, and the black-market trade in eggs and meat

Check out Wikipedia for more sea turtle facts.

Tell the difference between turtles

The differences between the turtles can be found in the head, the carapace (shell), the flippers and the colour.

Green Turtle

(Chelonia mydas)
green-sea-turtle

diving with sea turtles - green turtle
Head: Blunt nose with one pair of prefrontal scales
Carapace (shell): Four pairs of coastal scutes that does not overlap. Edge is sometimes scalloped, but not serrated.
Flippers: Single claw on each flipper
Colour: Actually not green! It can vary between brown, dark yellow, dark olive, grey and black.

Hawksbill Turtle

(Eretmochelys imbricata)
hawksbill-sea-turtle

diving with sea turtles - hawksbill turtle
Head: Beak-like mouth with a prominent overbite. Two pairs of prefrontal scales.
Carapace (shell): Four pairs of thick, overlapping coastal scutes. Edge serrated, especially towards the rear.
Flippers: Two claws on each flipper. Front flippers smaller then on Green Turtles.
Colour: Often dark brown or dark green streaked with yellow, amber and light brown. Often has algae growing on the carapace while Green Turtles in general are ‘cleaner’.

Interact with our turtles as a responsible diver

Never touch, handle or ride a turtle. This will never benefit the turtle in any way and will induce stress on the animal.

Give the turtle space. Do not restrict its normal movement or block its direction of travel. You can drown the turtle if you prevent it from reaching the surface to breathe.

When taking photo’s, keep your distance so not to interfere with the turtles natural behaviour and to not stress it. Avoid using flash.

If encountering a turtle during a night dive, point your torch light away from its face so not to blind it and startle it.

Pick up rubbish if you see any or alert your dive guide or instructor so he/she
can collect it. Especially plastic bags are commonly mistaken for jelly fish by turtles who eat them and risk suffocation.

Where to find Turtles in Two Fish

You are very likely to come across a turtle if you visit South Lombok or Nusa Lembongan. You are also likely to have an encounter if you go on one of our day-trips to Padang Bai and Amed in Mainland Bali.

Bunaken Island is actually world famous for its large amount of sea turtles with guests often coming across 7 and more on one dive.

Turtles have been spotted in the Lembeh Straits, a location that is more famous as being the muck diving capital of the world!

Hope to see you soon for a turtle-tastic holiday!

4 Comments

Bill Murray says:

08/12/2015 at 11:30 pm

It was the Hawksbills that were so exiting for me at Nusa Lembongan! I saw lots of greens in my dives in the Philippines but not the Hawkbills

- Two Fish Blog says:
  
  09/12/2015 at 11:32 am
  
  Thx Bill, interesting that there seems to be only greens in Philippines!
  
Donna says:

09/12/2015 at 1:23 am

Hawksbill, pointy mouth and pointy scutes. I’ll know the difference next time I see one.

- Two Fish Blog says:
  
  09/12/2015 at 11:31 am
  
  Thx Donna, fortunately they let you get pretty close so its easy to tell them apart from the beaks, and from a distance the shell can be very distinctive.