Traffic Control for Turtles

October 29, 2009

Scientists have been tagging turtles for a little while to see where they go, but a new combined effort could mean fewer turtle tragedies in the open water.

Juvenile loggerhead turtles, which are a threatened species, can unintentionally become bycatch on fishing vessels. In the fall, sometimes they enter water that's too cold and become stranded. Researchers from the U.S. Northeast Fisheries Science Center in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, are hot on the turtle trail, tracking their movements to better understand their behavior so fishermen can avoid them.

Working with support from the Atlantic sea scallop fishing industry, the NEFSC captured two juvenile turtles in August, attached satellite-linked tags to their carapaces, and has been tracking their movements since (they're off the coast of North Carolina now). The scientists also sent a remotely operated vehicle or ROV into the ocean to get visuals on turtle movements in the wild--the first time this has been done, according to the FEFSC. Here's a cool underwater video showing an ROV-view of a young loggerhead turtle.

The hope is that this pilot project leads to a larger turtle behavior study, as well as better fishing gear technology that prevents turtles from getting caught. That way we'll be able to keep on finding Nemo.

Photo: Attaching a satellite-linked data logger. Credit: Eric Matzen, NEFSC/NOAA.