The Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park serves as important foraging habitat for juvenile and adult sea turtles.
In 2025, Sea Turtle Conservancy (STC) began an in-water research project to study sea turtles in the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park (ECLSP). Established in 1958, the ECLSP became the first reserve in the wider Caribbean to protect marine habitat. The park encompasses 409 square km of habitat, including shallow water seagrass beds, sand flats, and coral reefs. The ECLSP is used as foraging grounds by green, loggerhead, and hawksbill sea turtles, yet has generally received less research attention than other areas of the Bahamas. Studying sea turtles in these developmental and adult habitats is critical to measuring long-term trends, understanding the importance of nearshore habitats, and providing current data to wildlife managers.
This research offers a unique opportunity for STC to gather long-term in-water data on sea turtles residing in habitat that’s been protected and closed to all forms of fishing for decades. Data collected from the project will help inform the Bahamian government and the public on the importance of sea turtles to the long-term health of the Bahamas marine environment. Similar to other STC research programs, STC expects to involve local communities and organizations to foster support for the conservation of sea turtles and their habitats.
(1) Assist Bahamas wildlife managers in assessing the current status of juvenile and adult sea turtles in the ECLSP;
(2) Provide a research platform for young and talented marine biology students;
(3) Educate locals and visitors on the importance of these areas for sea turtles and other marine species; and
(4) Compare sea turtle data collected in the ECLSP with data collected by STC at in-water research projects in Florida and Bermuda.