The Farm's captive breeding colony now produces an average of 45,000 eggs per year. Approximately eight thousand hatchlings are needed each year to satisfy current production goals. Excess hatchlings are designated for tagging and release. Over 28,000 hatchlings and yearlings have been released into the waters surrounding the Cayman Islands.
To reap the maximum benefits from these thousands of locally released turtles the Farm now tags turtles with a "living tag" which was developed by Professor John Hendrickson and Lupe Hendrickson of the University of Arizona. This tagging method involves the auto grafting of a small, white dot of belly shell onto the turtle's dark coloured back. This is done when the turtle is only a few days old. As the animal grows, the dot grows with it. This tagging method is tremendously significant as it is the only method whereby a tiny sea turtle hatching may be identified as a 300 pound adult more than 15 years later on a nesting beach. This tagging may allow scientists to discover whether or not sea turtles actually return to the beach from which they hatch to nest, a hypothesis which has never been proven. Information from these tagged turtles will help determine the benefits of "head-starting", a widely used conservation technique of releasing older turtles in the hopes of better insuring their survival in the wild.
Since the Farm has begun local turtle releases, the sightings of green sea turtles by divers and residents living along the coast have been common. To fully assess the re-establishment of a Cayman turtle population, the Farm, with the cooperation of the Cayman Islands Government, has initiated both aerial and ground level surveys of the beaches and waters surrounding the islands. The public has cooperated by providing information on turtle sightings and nestings. Because of observed dog and crab predation and increased public use of all beaches, reported nests are relocated to the Cayman Turtle Farm's hatchery for incubation. All hatchlings are then returned to the collection beach for release.
A tag-recapture program is ongoing which allows for the collection of data regarding survival and growth of the turtles released by the Cayman Turtle Farm. As well as the "living tag", yearling turtles are tagged with a titanium tag on their fore-flipper which identifies an individual animal. Using turtle nets, the turtles are recaptured, weighed, measured, and released immediately. The titanium tag also provides information that enables individuals finding these animals in areas away form the Cayman Islands to return capture information to the Farm. The majority of tag returns have come from Cuba, with returns also from Honduras, Venezuela, the United States, Panama, Belize, Nicaragua, and Mexico. Information thus far correlated suggests that the turtles adapt well to natural conditions when released as yearlings, and that their release site in the Cayman Islands dictates whether or not they migrate away from the Islands or stay in Cayman waters. Significantly, the release program of the Farm has demonstrated that "head-started" turtles do assimilate into a natural environment.
For additional information regarding the release program please email info@boatswainsbeach.ky