Scientists tag loggerhead turtle for first time

Eric Hopton for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online

Scientists are tracking a young juvenile loggerhead turtle, no bigger than a dinner plate, as it travels down West Coast of the United States. Satellite data from the tagged turtle should help biologists identify loggerheads’ habitats and shed light on what scientists once called the “lost years” – the early part of a sea turtle’s life when their migration patterns were mostly unknown.

Until recently, transmitters were too large for juvenile sea turtles. As a result, this is the first time scientists have tagged a loggerhead sea turtle off US West Coast. The information could be used to more improve protection for this endangered species.

In mid-April, NOAA Fisheries scientists Tomo Eguchi and Jeff Seminoff released the trailblazing turtle from an inflatable. He’s been beaming back his location ever since. The little guy had been picked up a few weeks earlier by a Coast Guard vessel and brought to the Aquarium of the Pacific for medical attention. When veterinarians there declared him fighting fit, the NOAA grabbed the chance for a tag and release operation.

“We know that there are juvenile loggerheads in this part of the Pacific, but they’re small and very hard to spot,” said Eguchi. “So we don’t have good data on what types of habitat they’re using.”

Improving knowledge aids conservation

But, because loggerheads are occasionally caught in the gill nets used by swordfish fishermen, we have known for some time that the juveniles sometimes use the same habitat as swordfish, especially when the water becomes unusually warm.

NOAA Fisheries created the Pacific Loggerhead Conservation Area off the coast of Southern California. When water temperatures rise, or are forecasted to rise, managers close that area to the drift gill net fishery for swordfish. That happened for the first time last summer.

Our knowledge of loggerhead travel is improving all the time, and data from tagged loggerheads should allow managers to fine-tune fishery closures.

“If it turns out that the turtles like different habitat than swordfish, or if they use the same habitat but at different times, then there might be a way to allow fishermen to fish while still keeping turtle hotspots protected,” said Seminoff. “It would be a win-win.”

Follow the trail

The tag should work for 4 to 5 months. While it’s still working, you can follow the turtle’s travels on this loggerhead turtle movement map, which is updated several times a day. So far, the turtle has traveled around 125 miles. “That’s a long way for such a little guy” said Seminoff.

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