Tortuga Negra Bay

Tortuga Negra Bay on Isabela's north coast is named for the enormous aggregations of green sea turtles that gather here to mate and nest, making it one of the most important sea turtle sites in the entire Pacific. The sheltered bay's warm shallows and extensive coral gardens provide foraging grounds for turtles year-round, but during the warm season (December to May) mating aggregations of dozens of turtles create an unforgettable spectacle. Whale sharks are also seasonal visitors to the bay's outer edges, drawn by the plankton blooms that coincide with warmer surface waters.