The people of the Cayman Islands have a history tied to the turtle. In the 1600 and 1700's the Cayman Islands became a provisioning stop for vessels sailing the Caribbean because of an abundance of green sea turtles, which could be caught and kept alive on board as a source of fresh meat. Permanent settlements developed on the Cayman Islands in the seventeenth century and turtling became a means of income as well as providing a local source of food.

However, the turtles around the islands were depleted by the early 1800's and the turtling industry focused around the Miskito cays off the coast of Nicaragua. The Cayman turtling fleet continued operating at a sustained level until the early 1900's. By this time turtle populations were dwindling and, in subsequent years, national and international regulations and alternative sources of income reduced the turtling industry to a negligible level. The appearance of the turtle on the Cayman Islands' flag, seal and currency reflects the close association the people have to the turtle.

Cayman Turtle Farm was established in 1968 as Mariculture Ltd. by a group of investors from the United States and Great Britain as a facility to raise the green sea turtle, Chelonia mydas, for commercial purposes. The intention was to supply the market with a source of product that did not deplete the wild populations further. By releasing turtles and facilitating research, any harm created by removing turtles and eggs from the wild would be mitigated.

After much work was put into pioneering the requirements of domesticating this wild animal, regulations designed to protect the sea turtle prevented the sale of even the farmed turtle product in the U. S. and many other countries. With close to 100,000 turtles to feed and care for and unable to sell its products to continue a cash flow, Mariculture Ltd. consequently went bankrupt in 1975. Mariculture Ltd. was bought by a group from Germany and renamed Cayman Turtle Farm Ltd.

Between 1980 and the end of April, 2001, Cayman Turtle Farm had released 30,000 turtles around the islands. Many had been released prior to 1980 but records are not readily available. Tag returns from "head started" (released at 1 year old) turtles indicate that they adapt and survive well after release. The tagged turtles have been found as far away as Venezuela and several turtles have been recovered after being released for 13.5 years.