ABSTRACT
Marine turtles have roamed coastal and marine environments since the Cretaceous period, over 100 million years ago. Grazing on sponge and sea grass, predating on oceanic jelly fish and nesting on sandy beaches, marine turtles have played an important role in the ecology of coral reefs, sea-grass beds, coastal dunes and open-ocean ecosystems. They act as biological transporters of nutrients and energy from marine to terrestrial ecosystems (Bouchard and Bjorndal, 2000; Bjorndal and Jackson, 2003), migrating over thousands of kilometres between feeding and nesting grounds (Limpus et al, 1992; Musick and Limpus, 1997; Plotkin, 2003; Godley et al, 2008). In addition to their ecological significance, marine turtles have been of major cultural, social and economic value to coastal societies for centuries. Their meat and eggs are valuable sources of food, and their shells serve various household, ornamental and ceremonial purposes (Thorbjarnarson et al, 2000; Campbell, 2003; Hunn et al, 2003; Godley et al, 2004; Frazier, 2005; Nor, 2007).
