Cayman Turtle Farm

Cayman Turtle Centre: Island Wildlife Encounter (formerly Boatswain's Beach)
Sign formerly at the entrance to Cayman Turtle Farm
Type	Aquatic nature park
Location	West Bay district, Grand Cayman Island
Coordinates	19°22′48″N 81°24′59″W / 19.380097°N 81.416398°W / 19.380097; -81.416398Coordinates: 19°22′48″N 81°24′59″W / 19.380097°N 81.416398°W / 19.380097; -81.416398
Created	1968
Operated by	Cayman Turtle Farm (1983) Ltd., wholly owned by Cayman Islands Government
Visitors	500,000 annually
Status	In operation

Cayman Turtle Centre is a conservation facility and tourist attraction located in the West Bay district of the Cayman Islands. It is used for raising the endangered Green Sea Turtle. Established in 1968 by a group of American and British investors as "Mariculture Limited", the centre was initially a facility used to raise the Green Sea Turtle for commercial purposes. By raising the turtle in a farming operation, the investors could raise turtle-meat for consumption without depleting the wild population of the species. Still in operation as a farm that breeds and raises turtles in order to sell product, the Cayman Turtle Farm has also become a research centre and tourist attraction. Currently, the centre is a conservation project as well as the largest land-based attraction in the Cayman Islands. The turtle centre welcomes more than 500,000 visitors annually.

While on his maritime travels, Christopher Columbus, when coming across the Cayman Islands in 1503, called the islands "Las Tortugas", because of the abundance of Green Sea Turtles found there. During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Cayman Islands became a stopping point for sea vessels sailing the Caribbean Sea in need of food; the turtles caught in the Caymans were taken aboard ship and kept alive as a source of fresh meat. As settlements and towns on the islands were established over time, "turtling" became a way of survival and means of income in the Caymans. By the 19th century, however, the turtle population around the islands was near depleted and commerce centered on the Green Sea Turtle shifted to the Caribbean off the coast of Nicaragua in Central America.

During the 20th century, turtles were still caught and used for their meat in the Caymans, however, the depletion of the species around the islands made it impossible locally for turtling to continue to be a viable source of income. In 1968, American and British investors - Irvin Naylor, Henry Hamlin, Samuel Ayres, III, and Anthony G.A. Fisher - obtained licensing from the Cayman Islands government and grouped together to found Mariculture, Limited. Mariculture named this venture "The Cayman Turtle Farm" and it was the first commercial enterprise to domesticate Green Sea Turtles. It is founded as Mariculture Ltd by Irvin Naylor, Henry Hamlin, Dr. Samuel Ayres III & Anthony G.A. Fisher with the blessing of and an exclusive franchise from the Cayman Islands Government. While Mariculture worked to domesticate the sea animal, protection regulations prevented the sale of all turtle products in the United States and other countries, limiting the commercial value of Mariculture's product. By the mid-1970s, the facility housed near 100,000 turtles. Unable to sell their products, the corporation filed bankruptcy in 1975 and was subsequently purchased by an investment group from Germany. In 1983, the farm was for sale again - this time it was purchased by the Cayman Islands government and the facility was renamed "Cayman Turtle Farm, Limited".