TURTLE "RECAPTURES"
Very likely one of MAR Alliance's tagged hawksbills. Photo Alison Caswell 2017
Every now and again divers will encounter turtles with tags. More often these are metal flipper tags but occasionally they are satellite tags. Here is a summary of the turtles observed by divers that were tagged by researchers.
BZ1340Tagged by Dr Rachel Graham in April 2015 and observed by Jamani Balderamos in Dec 2016, this turtle was less than a half mile from the location she was first observed.
|
|
On Dec 19, 2016 Jamani Balderamos was diving with Turneffe Flats at a dive site south of Crickozeen and observed a resting hawksbill sea turtle with flipper tags and noted a tag with BZ1340 was visible on the left front flipper. The turtle was less than 2 ft in length. Inez Garcia from the Belize Fisheries Department checked their sea turtle tag database and confirmed the tag was applied by MAR Alliance. MAR Alliance is a member of the Belize Sea Turtle Conservation Network and conducts Mega Fauna surveys throughout Belize. Dr. Rachel Graham of Mar Alliance confirmed they tagged this turtle on April 19, 2015 on the west side of Turneffe Atoll. The turtle weighed 12 kg (25 pounds) and was 48 cm (1.5 feet in length). The size of the turtle indicates it is an immature turtle and the sex could not be determined by observation.
Sea turtles are flipper tagged by researchers to monitor migration patterns. Almost two years later BZ1340 was found foraging in the same area where it was first encountered. This recapture suggests that juvenile sea turtles forage in the same general area and do not migrate far from their preferred feeding grounds. When sea turtles mature they can migrate to nesting beaches.
Please note all sea turtles are protected under the Laws of Belize. If you observe a sea turtle with tags do not attempt to capture the turtle.
Sea turtles are flipper tagged by researchers to monitor migration patterns. Almost two years later BZ1340 was found foraging in the same area where it was first encountered. This recapture suggests that juvenile sea turtles forage in the same general area and do not migrate far from their preferred feeding grounds. When sea turtles mature they can migrate to nesting beaches.
Please note all sea turtles are protected under the Laws of Belize. If you observe a sea turtle with tags do not attempt to capture the turtle.
|
|
|
