This is a highly migratory species and the distribution is restricted to the tropical and subtropical latitudes.

Herbivorous feeding mainly on sea grasses, including turtle grass. They also eat small turtles and mollusks.

Mating take place well before the egg laying. For the laying of the eggs the females will come to the shore where they bury the eggs and leave back to the sea. The hatched out young turtles will go back to the sea and come back to the same beach for the laying of the eggs. This egg-laying phase is the most vulnerable period for this organism as they are well exposed to all types of predators.

Huge animal, will reach up to a size of 850 pounds and live up to 15 years.

The culture operation is a large investment in money and time as it is a slow growing species. Also the source of reliable supply of young turtles is a problem. The use of wild collection of the young one had concern from the environmental point of view. Also this is declared as an endangered species. So the marketing of the same is difficult even if they are reared in captivity. There will be a lot of regulatory controls to be satisfied for the trade of the same.

Rebel, T.P. 1974. Sea turtles and the turtle industry of the West Indies, Florida and Gulf of Mexico, rev. ed. Coral Gables, FL: University of Miami Press.

Wood, F. 1991. Turtle culture. In Production of Aquatic Animals, crustaceans and mollusks, amphebians and reptiles, ed. C.E. Nash, pp. 225-234. Amsterdam: Elsevier.