Photo courtesy of the New England Aquarium
DENNIS – The New England Aquarium is tracking the movements of 14 rehabilitated sea turtles that were satellite tagged this year, the most turtles the conservation organization has ever tagged in a single release year.
Each year, the Aquarium rehabilitates hundreds of sick and injured sea turtles, and several are tracked to collect data on where the turtles swim, feed, and travel, as well as gather information about post-release survivorship.
This past year, the team tagged eight critically endangered Kemp’s ridleys and six green sea turtles.
One of the turtles, named “Cayenne,” returned to Nantucket Sound this past August and has been feeding near West Dennis Beach, the same location where it was released following rehabilitative care at the Aquarium’s Sea Turtle Hospital in Quincy.
Information from satellite tags is used to improve sea turtle welfare, conservation, and protection.
The combined weight of a tag and accompanying attachment materials is 5% or less of the turtle’s body mass, and typically less than 1%.
Aquarium scientists expect most of the turtles to shed their satellite tags within about one year.
The public can follow the journey of several tagged turtles through a live map on their website.
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