Remotely operated vehicles and satellite tags aid turtle studies

Pilot study may lead to larger effort to reduce turtle bycatch

Researchers are using a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) and satellite-linked data loggers to learn more about turtle behavior in commercial fishing areas and to develop new ways to avoid catching turtles in fishing gear. This marks the first time an ROV has been used to follow turtles in the wild to learn about their behavior and how they interact with their habitat.

Heather Haas, Henry Milliken, Kimberly Murray , and Eric Matzen of NOAA's Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC) laboratory in Woods Hole, Mass. and colleagues Ron Smolowitz and Matthew Weeks of Coonamessett Farm in East Falmouth, Mass,. have been tracking two juvenile loggerhead turtles with satellite-linked tags since August, and following other non-tagged loggerheads with an ROV.

The two juvenile loggerheads have been followed since August 24, when they were captured off New Jersey and equipped with satellite-linked data loggers that continually record water temperature, depth, location and time of day. The turtles are now about 30 miles off North Carolina.

"The most commonly caught sea turtles are juvenile loggerheads," Haas said. "Understanding their behaviors at sea, such as where they go in the water column and when, could help us reduce their chances of getting caught in nets and dredges."

With support from the commercial fishing industry, the team and fellow turtle scientist Jeff Seminoff from NOAA's Southwest Fisheries Science Center lab in La Jolla, Calif., spent three days in late August aboard the commercial scallop vessel F/V Kathy Anne from Barnegat Light, N.J., attempting to catch two juvenile loggerhead turtles to tag.

On August 24, the team captured two juvenile loggerheads and attached the data loggers to the turtles' shells. The instruments log and store data, and should stay affixed to the turtles for at least six months and could remain attached as long as 18 months or more. Data are relayed back to the lab via satellite when the animals are at the ocean's surface.