Green Sea Turtle

Photo: hokoonwong · CC BY-NC

Green sea turtles are resident at Yabiji in unusually high densities for Japanese waters, foraging on the seagrass beds within the lagoon and resting under coral overhangs on the outer reef. Multiple nesting females return to Miyako's beaches annually, and the juvenile cohort is visible year-round in the shallow reef interior. Their abundance here reflects both the reef's exceptional habitat quality and the absence of significant fishing pressure across most of the plateau.