Since 2009 PSB has been collecting satellite tag telemetry data from sea turtles and other protected species.

The objectives of this project are to use novel satellite tracking methods to provide improved estimation of threats at foraging areas and along migration routes for oceanic stage sea turtles in the Northeast Distant Region of the Atlantic Ocean (NED) and to characterize the in-water habitats used by small, oceanic stage loggerheads (Caretta caretta) so that we better understand the features that likely define their nursery habitats and the potential risks and hazards to the smallest life stages of sea turtle. To accomplish these objectives, our strategy included collaborating with cooperative fishermen in the NED to capture and satellite tag small (30 cm length) loggerhead sea turtles. Using novel satellite telemetry techniques, we were to identify the fine-scale habitat selection, movements, and dispersal of small oceanic loggerheads in the NED.

A survey was conducted in 2013 by NOAA Fisheries Mississippi Labs and the Institute for Marine Mammal Studies (IMMS) to collect data on angler fishing practices and sea turtle interactions. The survey was conducted as a pilot project from June-September at six different access points that were selected based on prior history of incidental captures and location so that surveys were conducted in all three coastal counties. Participating anglers were asked general questions about fishing practices such as typical fishing times and locations, and type of hook and bait used. They were also asked if they had caught or observed the capture of a sea turtle in the last 12 months and the outcome of the capture.

A masters level student at Texas A&M University at Galveston [TAMUG] worked for the Galveston Lab and applied satellite tags to nesting turtles. When the student finished their work and moved on, TAMUG took over the satellite nestiing project, but as a condition of the USFWS permit was TAMUG had to bring the turtle back to the NOAA Galveston Laboratory for satellite tagging so the Galveston Lab continued to document information even though they were not the ones physically collecting that information. Later turtles were documented that were moved off the beach for satellite tagging, even if they didn't receive a satellite tag. In addition the Galveston Lab continued to document each time a satellite turtle was seen, even if it was not satellite tagged.

Skimmer trawls are utilized throughout the southeastern United States to target penaeid shrimp (Penaeidae). Because the codends of these trawls can be readily retrieved, skimmer trawls are allowed to utilize restricted tow times (55 and 75 minute, seasonally) in lieu of Turtle Excluder Device (TED) requirements as a sea turtle bycatch mitigation measure. However, observations aboard commercial vessels indicate that tow times are often exceeded. In 2013, the Southeast Fisheries Science Center Mississippi Laboratories began independent skimmer trawl TED testing aboard the NOAA vessel, RV Caretta. Testing was conducted from 2013 to 2015 on traditional commercial fishing grounds located in the internal coastal waters of Mississippi and Louisiana. The experimental design consisted of paired comparisons designed to examine shrimp catch retention and bycatch. A TED was installed in one net (treatment), while the other was left naked with no TED installed (control). The TED was switched between port and starboard nets daily to remove potential vessel side bias. Data consists of tow level data for each net (treatment vs control) for five major catch categories; shrimp, finfish, non-shrimp crustaceans, other invertebrates, and debris. Start and end locations, times, and depths were recorded for each tow along with vessel identifier, date, tow speed, TED configuration, and location of the TED (port vs starboard). Data were used to determine TED efficiency with regard to shrimp catch and bycatch reduction.

Pilot studies are being conducted for transect surveys and mark-recapture to assess long term relative abundance

We deployed pop-off archival transmitting tags on 15 loggerhead turtles that had been hooked in the U.S. pelagic longline fishery and on 10 loggerheads that had been dip-netted off the surface in the North Atlantic Ocean to assess survival. We used a known fate model with the transmission data to estimate annual survival rates and determine if there were differences in survival between the two groups. The best model of the data suggested there was no difference in survival between the lightly hooked and control turtles.

This dataset consists of the home ranges and satellite tracks taken from eleven dugongs and ten green turtles. Methods: Fast-acquisition satellite telemetry was used to track eleven dugongs and ten green turtles at two geographically distinct foraging locations in Queensland, Australia to evaluate the inter- and intra-species spatial relationships and assess the efficacy of existing protection zones. Home-range analysis and bathymetric modeling were used to determine spatial use and compared with existing protection areas using GIS. Raw, unfiltered tracking data were collected using fast acquisition GPS satellite transmitters attached to six dugongs (three females and three males) and four adult female green sea turtles near Mabuiag Island, Torres Strait, Australia in July 2009 and September 2010, and five dugongs (four females and one male) and six female green sea turtles (five adults and one prepubescent) in Shoalwater Bay, Australia in June/July 2012. The dugongs were captured using the dermal hold fast technique in Torres Strait and the standard rodeo technique in Shoalwater Bay. At both locations, the dugongs were fitted with Telonics Gen 4 GPS/ARGOS marine units attached to a 3 m tether linked to a padded tailstock harness. The green turtles were captured using the standard rodeo technique, brought to Mabuiag Island (Torres Strait) or MacDonald Point (Shoalwater Bay), and fitted with one of four types of satellite transmitters (Sirtrack F4G 291A, Wildlife Computers SPLASH10 BF-273A and Splash10 BF-273C, or SMRU SRDL 9000x). Each transmitter was attached to the carapace using the methods described in Shimada et al. (2012). Each turtle was released from shore the day after capture. Dugong units were programmed to collect a GPS position hourly; turtle units every 30 minutes. All units were programmed with a five minute repeat in case a signal was not received when the animal surfaced. Home-ranges were calculated for each animal using data from the entire period in which they were tracked and were calculated using fixed kernel density estimation with bandwidths selected by likelihood cross-validation (CVh). Kernel densities and bandwidths were calculated using the Geospatial Modelling Environment (GME), an extension to ArcGIS, with a resolution of 50 m. For a more detailed description of the methods see Gredzens(2014). Format: This dataset consists of shapefiles for the satellite tracks (lines and points) for the 21 animals as well as shapefiles for the calculated home ranges. References: Gredzens C, Marsh H, Fuentes MMPB, Limpus CJ, Shimada T, et al. (2014) Satellite Tracking of Sympatric Marine Megafauna Can Inform the Biological Basis for Species Co-Management. PLoS ONE 9(6): e98944. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0098944 Data Location: This dataset is filed in the eAtlas enduring data repository at: data\NERP-TE\1.2_GBR-Turtles-dugong-monitoing Change log: 2024-05-29 - Added interactive map of the resource link to Layer id: ea_nerp:TS_QLD_NERP-1-2-2-1_JCU_Turtle-dugong-tracking_2009-2012

The April 18, 2014, Biological Opinion requires NOAA Fisheries Gear Monitoring Team to ensure compliance with Turtle Excluder Device (TED) regulations at a level that keeps overall average sea turtle catch rates (i.e., sea turtles that do not escape via the TED and are captured) in the shrimp otter trawl fleet at or below 12%. NOAA’s Office of Law Enforcement (OLE) and Southeast Fisheries Science Center Mississippi Laboratory, inspect TEDs in otter trawls on shrimp vessels in the U.S. Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico for their compliance with TED regulations. The Mississippi Laboratories, with assistance from NOAA Fisheries Southeast Regional Office’s Protected Resources Division, analyzes the TED inspection data to estimate sea turtle capture rates and TED effectiveness.

Preliminary Report on the Analysis of Sea Turtle Monitoring Data 1986 - 1999.