Green sea turtles are perhaps the most famous travelers, migrating great distances. A yearling green turtle tagged and released at Bahia Honda in the Florida Keys in October 1967 was retaken off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina 13 months later, having traveled more than 800 miles. Other Florida-tagged green turtles have been found in Brazilian waters. Green turtles are reported to be strong swimmers, capable of speeds of 0.88 to 1.4 miles per hour. As noted previously, one population of greens is known to nest on Ascension Island and return to the coastal waters of Brazil as their major feeding grounds .
Green turtles are the only sea turtles that eat plants.
They graze on the vast beds of seagrasses found throughout the tropics. Some populations travel over a thousand miles over open ocean to nest on islands in the mid-Atlantic. Hunting and egg gathering have reduced their numbers greatly , but now is threatened with extinction. 500 to 2000 nests are recorded in Florida each year. Compared to other sea turtles, the head is small relative to body size.