Tetiaroa’s beaches are part of a green turtle’s breeding journey, and their nests have been monitored season after season.
- Local names
- Honu
- Habitat
- Motu and shore
About this species
Green turtles regularly nest in French Polynesia. Tetiaroa is one of the important nesting atolls named in the original guide, alongside Scilly and Bellinghausen, also called Motu One. All three are in the Society Islands; Scilly and Bellinghausen have territorial reserve status.
Te mana o te moana has carried out annual nesting monitoring on Tetiaroa since 2007. Teams record nesting females, nests and hatchlings, building a record across successive seasons. The guide’s linked green-turtle story follows that work and the animal’s wider life cycle in more detail.
Adult females travel between feeding areas and nesting beaches, generally returning to the region where they hatched. Breeding migrations need not happen every year: intervals commonly span several years.
