Green Turtle: an emblematic marine species at a crossroads in New Caledonia

Abstract

Introduction In New Caledonia, the green turtle, Chelonia mydas, is an emblematic and protected species. Today, it lies at a crossroads in administrative, political and customary terms. Knowledge and representations relative to this animal, and most of all provincial and tribal as well as collective and individual legitimacies that emerge around the turtle and its management, are interconnected and often confronted with one another. In this paper, this animal will be studied not only as a “na...