are living proof.

The Island's turtle population was yesterday dubbed "extremely healthy'' by an American biologist.

Dr. Peter Meylan's words should allay constant fears about dwindling numbers.

"Bermuda's protection policy seems to be working very well compared to other countries,'' he told The Royal Gazette .

Dr. Meylan, a biology lecturer at Florida's Eckerd College, flew over to Bermuda on July 25 to spearhead research into the green turtle.

He was accompanied by his wife, Anne, a sea turtle biologist with the Department of Resources, Florida, and students from Eckerd College.

The project has laid the groundwork for discovering more about turtles' movements in the sea.

It is believed turtles spend their early life in Bermuda, before moving off.

"We want to know how fast they grow before reaching maturity,'' explained Dr.

Meylan.

"We also don't know much about their ecological geography -- that is whether they are migratory or sedentary.'' Dr. Meylan said mature Bermudian turtles had been discovered as far afield as Florida, Costa Rica, Panama, and Nicaragua.

The research will also try to solve a surprisingly prickly problem -- a turtle's sex.

One of the main ways is to take blood samples, which are then tested in laboratories in Texas.

"We take serum from the blood, and find out how much testosterone is present.

This will help sort out little boys from little girls.'' When The Royal Gazette arrived at the Bermuda Aquarium and Zoo yesterday, blood sampling was underway.

Turtles caught off Daniel's Head on July 31 were lain on their backs, before being strapped to a rack, and pricked with a syringe.

"It's really just like what happens to humans,'' Dr. Meylan told a group of fascinated young onlookers.

The turtles, weighing up to 150-lbs, had also been clipped with tags to help track their movements.

"We will be releasing them back into the water this evening,'' said Dr.

Meylan.

Dr. Meylan said it was thought Bermuda's original turtle population became extinct in around 1928, with the current specimens migrating from elsewhere.

"We don't think there has been nesting here for a long time,'' he added.

Dr. Meylan, who flies back to Florida today, has been helped in his work by staff at the Aquarium and Zoo, and the Fisheries Department.

SCALY MONSTER -- American biologist Dr. Peter Meylan with one of the green turtles at the centre of a research project at the Bermuda Aquarium and Zoo.