Turtles of the sizes that live in Bermuda have only two real enemies: man and sharks. Should Bermuda once again become a nesting ground for the green turtle, the eggs and hatchlings would face predation by ants, crabs, birds, dogs and cats on land, and a host of marine carnivores such as snappers, groupers, barracudas and sharks, once they reach the sea.

Nest sites would always be subject to erosion when tropical storms and hurricanes pass by the island.

Human-Caused threats .

Although we are proud of the protection offered to sea turtles in our waters, they do not completely escape the negative impacts from humans.

Boat Collisions .

The sea turtles of Bermuda have, for many years, co-existed with the many ships and marine craft which abound along our shores.

With technology resulting in high-speed, high-powered boats, sea turtles have a much more difficult task to elude these vessels. A number of sea turtles are killed in collisions with boats and many more are injured or maimed for life.

Entanglement in fishing gear, although there are no shrimp trawlers in Bermuda's territorial waters, lost or discarded fishing nets and ropes are often washed up on our shores.

On occasion, sea turtles are washed ashore tangled in the rope and twine that served as their death trap.

Unable to free themselves from such debris, their struggle to reach the ocean surface for a breath of air fails, due to the weight of their burden, and this results in drowning.

In other cases, the turtle becomes so entangled that it is unable to feed and it slowly starves to death.

The practice of trap fishing in Bermuda has been identified as a threat to the ocean-going Leatherback turtle which occasionally comes near shore. Through adaptations for speed and power in the open ocean, the leatherback has lost the ability to back out of trouble.

As a consumer of jellyfish, the Leatherback is apparently attracted to the buoy that marks a fish trap and upon approaching it, becomes entangled in the attached line. With forward speed and power the only means of escape, the turtle will swim in frenzied circles that can result in a fatal entanglement.

Ocean Debris .

A very serious threat to sea turtles is pollution and debris in our oceans.

Those species that feed on jellyfish often mistake plastic bags for food.

Ingestion of such trash can lead to clogging of the digestive tract and death.

Young turtles in their pelagic phase are dependent on ocean drift lines for food. It is at these drift lines that ocean debris accumulates.

Young turtles feeding there are known to ingest plastics, styrofoam, balloons and tar.

Tar is the result of weathering of oil at ocean surfaces. The same tar balls that mar the coastline of Bermuda are a threat to pelagic sea turtles.