When turtles reach a carapace length of approximately 20 to 25 cm, they leave the pelagic habitat and enter benthic feeding grounds. Some feeding areas, such as Miskito Cays, Nicaragua, support a complete size range of green turtles from 20 cm to breeding adults. Coral reefs or rocky outcrops near feeding pastures are often used as resting areas, both at night and during the day. Our personal experience with a juvenile Hawaiian green confirms this theory. Our first turtle encounter resulted when a juvenile swam up to us and attempted to take some of the cuttlefish we were using to attract eels for photographic purposes.
Scientists do know that once green turtles shift to benthic feeding grounds, they are herbivores.
They feed on both seagrasses and algae. The green turtle can be found throughout the world in all tropical and sub-tropical oceans. In the U.S., Atlantic green turtles can be found around the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and continental U.S. from Texas to Massachusetts. Important feeding areas for green turtles in Florida include Indian River Lagoon, Florida Keys, Florida Bay, Homosassa, Crystal River and Cedar Key. Major green nesting colonies in the Atlantic are located on Ascension Island, Aves Island, Costa Rica and Suriname.