|
 Turtle
Tracking:
Saving a Species, One Turtle
at a Time
January 2005
 |
A loggerhead
hatchling (Caretta caretta) meets a Vancouver
Aquarium animal care specialist shortly after its arrival
in Vancouver.
Photo:
Vancouver Aquarium
Marine
Science Centre |
On
July 21, 2000,
four loggerhead sea turtle hatchlings - each the size of a
human hand - arrived at the Vancouver Aquarium. Hatched at
Japan's Port
of Nagoya Aquarium as part of an international effort
to conserve the Pacific Ocean's dwindling loggerhead populations,
the four tiny turtles spent the first years of their lives
under the care and protection of the Vancouver Aquarium's
animal care staff.
Despite
their popularity with Aquarium visitors, the loggerheads were
not destined to spend the rest of their lives on exhibit.
Their three-year internship at the Aquarium allowed them to
grow up in a predator-free environment, and by early 2004,
they had grown large enough to fend for themselves in the
wild.
In
January 2004, the turtles were shipped to Japan and released
into the Pacific Ocean. Researchers fitted two of the released
turtles with special tags that enabled satellites to track
their movements. Each tag transmits its location whenever
its assigned turtle breaks the ocean's surface to breathe.
By mapping the travels of these turtles, researchers hope
to better understand their range and patterns of migration.
With
the cooperation of the Hawaii-based Marine
Turtle Research Program (MTRP), AquaNews is proud to chronicle
these turtles' journey through the Pacific, providing their
most recent known locations.
Marine
Turtle Research Program
 |
Turtle
Tracks in the Pacific Ocean: Click on the
image to view latest satellite image of the turtles'
travels. Image courtesy NOAA.
Updated
February 17, 2006
|
Much
remains to be learned about the life history of Japan's loggerhead
sea turtles. Scientists at MTRP, who coordinate the turtle
tracking project for the National Marine Fisheries Service
(NOAA Fisheries), are working towards recovering and sustainably
managing populations of sea turtles in Hawaii and other U.S.-affiliated
islands in the Pacific Ocean. They are also lending their
expertise to Pacific Island and Pacific Rim nations to help
their recover their sea turtle populations.
Scientists
are increasingly turning to satellite tracking technologies
to help them evaluate the effects of
fibropapillomatosis disease on Pacific
sea turtles. Fibropapillomatosis is a myserious infection
that afflicts several species of sea turtles, causing fibrous
tumours and warts on the flippers, head and tail. Researchers
do not completely understand the cause of the disease, but
it is spreading among sea turtles and is almost always fatal.
Another
important use of the technology is to monitor interactions
between sea turtles and human fisheries; the tags help scientists
identify how being accidentally caught as 'bycatch' in commercial
fisheries can affect a turtle's survival. This work will help
scientists understand the impact of the longline fishery on
marine turtles and will also provide more information about
how changes in ocean conditions affect their populations.
For
more information on the Marine Turtle Research Program, contact:
What
Can You Do?
Sea
turtles have survived life in the world's oceans for millions
of years, but over the last century, human activities have
pushed them to the edge of extinction. In addition to dangerous
interactions with human fisheries, sea turtles are caught
for their shells, eggs and meat; and bright lights from resorts
near turtle nesting beaches confuse hatchlings and make them
vulnerable to predators.
Humans
are helping, however, and individuals can make a difference
by doing a few simple things:
- Use
a Seafood
Watch card to buy seafoods that are caught using turtle-friendly
methods
- Report
a sea turtle sighting anywhere in British Columbia to the
B.C.
Sea Turtle Sightings Network
- Keep
our shorelines clear of aquatic garbage, and participating
in shoreline cleanup operations such as the Great
Canadian Shoreline Cleanup
- Avoid
vacationing at resorts built on or near sea turtle nesting
beaches
- When
on vacation, avoid souvenirs and curios made from turtle
parts
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| Photo:
Margaret Butschler |
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