HI Turtle Portrait 2

Underwater Photography by Jay Torborg

"Sea Turtle Portrait #2"

The green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas), called honu by the Hawaiians, is endangered world-wide for a number of reasons. Until 1973, when the Endangered Species Act was passed, turtle soup was popular with fishing crews and in restaurants. It can take turtles more than 20 years to reach reproductive size; only recently have green sea turtle populations begun to show signs of recovery. Hawaii�s sea turtles mostly migrate to French Frigate Shoals (north of the main Hawaiian islands) to nest. Male honu have long thick tails when adult; females have short stubby tails.

Photographed with a Nikon N90s in a Sea&Sea NX90 housing with two Ikelite 200 strobes. Nikon 60mm f2.8 macro lens. Fuji Provia 100F transparency film scanned with a Nikon LS-2000.