Green Turtle

Photo: Mafia Island Diving · © all rights reserved

Mafia Island supports one of Tanzania's largest green turtle nesting populations, with females coming ashore on beaches at and near Ras Kisimani between February and August to excavate nests in the sand above the high-tide line. Divers encounter nesting turtles returning from or heading to the beach in the shallows during the nesting season, while foraging individuals are present year-round in the seagrass and algae beds of the point's sheltered bay. Mafia Island Marine Park's no-take provisions have allowed the resident turtle population to recover measurably since the park's establishment in 1995, making this one of the clearest conservation success stories in East African marine management.