Hi All,

Last October I started posting emails which I received from Robert van Dam, the project director for Sea Turtle Conservation (STCB) about the satellite tracking of Nautilla and Schillie, two female hawksbill turtles. Below is a message from Robert providing an update on Nautilla and Schillie and announcing STCB's plans for a new round of tracking which is to start quite soon.

As you will read below, STCB is still looking for additional funding for the program. In addition to contributing directly to STCB, Americans can make a tax deductible contribution via credit card to STCB through the Support Bonaire Sea Turtle Conservation Project. The link for Support Bonaire is:
Support Bonaire


Andy

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Here is Robert's email of June 14th:

Dear Friends,



The turtle nesting season is again fully underway and we are seeing a lot of turtle nesting activity around the island. At Klein Bonaire, which we monitor most intensely, we have already found 20 nests, mostly laid by loggerheads (kawama) and hawksbills (karet). A leatherback made nests at Playa Chikitu and Lagoen in April, which is very unusual for Bonaire. This is a very good start for the 2004 turtle nesting season!



Many of you have asked us what has happened to the two adult hawksbills that we tracked from Klein Bonaire last year. Here is a brief update: we are still occasionally receiving signals from both ‘Nautila’ and ‘Schillie’, indicating that they are alive and apparently doing well in their feeding habitats where we tracked them to at Banco Navidad (Dominican Republic) and Mona Island (Puerto Rico). Both these areas are relatively safe for turtles: they reside in places that are relatively hard to reach for humans and live in waters between 20 and 50 meters deep. The radio signals unfortunately no longer provide us with precise locations for the turtles, which is probably the result of the short times that the turtles are staying at the surface to breathe, low batteries in the transmitters, damaged antennas, or a combination of these factors. Since female hawksbills only breed every 2-4 years, we expect to see ‘Nautila’ or ‘Schillie’ again on Klein Bonaire in 2005 at the earliest. But as there is an active sea turtle research program at Mona Island, there is a chance that ‘Schillie’ may be seen there in the water. If any news develops, we will let you know.



For the 2004 turtle nesting season we are planning to do more turtle tracking, with loggerhead turtles in July and hawksbills in October. We are currently looking for more sponsors to help purchase transmitters to track these turtles “home” after they visit Bonaire. With transmitters each costing about US$ 1750 (Naf 3200), plus about an equal amount for satellite time per turtle, this is a costly project that can only be completed with your help! If you are interested in a turtle tracking sponsorship, even if for only a partial amount, please contact us, the STCB at tel (599) 717 2225 or 790 0433, e-mail: stcb@bonaireturtles.org. In return, we offer the possibility of naming the sponsored turtle, participation in fieldwork with the turtles, and frequent updates of turtle tracking results.



Thanks!



Robert P van Dam

Project Director
Sea Turtle Conservation Bonaire

phone (599) 717 2225
cellular (599) 790 0433
email stcb@bonaireturtles.org
website www.bonaireturtles.org

Andy, thanks for the update! Hopefully folks will be able to help out a bit

Below is a recent press release from Sea Turtle Conservation Bonaire regarding the start of the satellite tracking program with the release of a rather large loggerhead:

Andy

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PRESS RELEASE - For immediate release

Friday, July 9, 2004 - Kralendijk, Bonaire


SATELLITE TRACKING OF TURTLES FROM BONAIRE STARTS WITH RELEASE OF MASSIVE LOGGERHEAD

Sea turtle nesting is in full swing at Klein Bonaire this summer, which means lots of nests on the beach, baby turtles running towards the water, and big mother turtles that make it all happen. These big turtles visit Klein Bonaire only during a few months every 2 to 3 years, and it remains a mystery where they go after leaving Klein Bonaire. Building on the success of last year's tracking of two hawksbill turtles, 'Schillie' and 'Nautila' Sea Turtle Conservation Bonaire is continuing this research in 2004 with the placement today of the first transmitter on a massive female loggerhead turtle. The aim of this work is to find out where 'our' turtles live, how they get there, and learn of potential threats they face during their migration.

Today's loggerhead has a shell measuring over 1 meter in length and is estimated to weigh at least 140 kg. She was caught Friday morning at 'No Name' beach, Klein Bonaire, and quickly fitted with a small transmitter that was glued onto the carapace, before her release back into the water. The turtle was very cooperative and remained calm throughout the procedure. Upon release she swam straight back to the reef, where the turtle will rest until she needs to crawl onto the beach again to lay another nest. As soon as this turtle has laid her last nest, containing about 120 eggs, she is expected to migrate back towards her feeding grounds.

The turtle tracking works through signals sent out by the transmitter which is switched on whenever the turtle comes to the surface to breathe. These transmissions are then collected by Argos system receivers onboard weather satellites that circle the globe, yielding location data for each turtle that are e-mailed daily to Sea Turtle Conservation Bonaire and mapped on the website www.bonaireturtles.org.

This loggerhead turtle remains unnamed and there is an opportunity for sponsors of this turtle tracking effort to name this animal. Please contact Robert van Dam (599 717 2225, 790 0433, stcb@bonaireturtles.org) for details. Sea Turtle Conservation Bonaire aims to protect sea turtles through education, research and taking conservation actions. Founded in 1992, the STCB is a Bonaire-based, non-governmental and non-profit organization, part of the Wider Caribbean Sea Turtle Conservation Network.


For more information contact: Robert van Dam, (599) 717 2225 or 790 0433, e-mail: stcb@bonaireturtles.org
Note: Higher resolution and additional photographs are available upon request

Andrew , thank you so much for the update.. does this mean that we will once again be part of the tracking of this turtle?? It was very educational to see where Shillie and Nautilla ended up last year.. Do we know if the transmitters on those two are still working??? {"The radio signals unfortunately no longer provide us with precise locations for the turtles, which is probably the result of the short times that the turtles are staying at the surface to breathe, low batteries in the transmitters, damaged antennas, or a combination of these factors."}How long is the life of the batteries suppose to be ??

Andy, that is ONE impressive turtle!!! My goodness....its head appears to be as large as a human's head! My, my!!!

I will see what we can do to assist the program...can't manage a "full" sponsorship, but I will certainly see if we can contribute in some way....every little bit should help out, right?

Absolutely wonderful program...the tagging and tracking....totally fascinating and exciting! Thanks again for starting another thread on BT for us to participate in and observe. Ayo. Carole

PS Should we write to the link in your last post for higher resolution photos?? cb

Freddie -- last word I had from Robert van Dam, both transmitters were still working but there is not a lot of confidence in the data being received due to the combination of factors that Robert stated. My understanding is that the batteries have a maximum life of approximately 18 months.

Carole -- Robert cc'ed me a copy of his response to your offer to support the project. Thanks so very much. I noticed that Robert did not address your request for higher resolution pictures. I will email them directly to you.

Thanks again, Andy

Andy, thank you so much! I have sent off a contribution to the STCP via SupportBonaire this morning. I hope our donation helps with the tracking program this year....the best of luck to everyone involved! Can't wait to read all of your updates on BT this year!! Thanks, again, Andy and Bob. Carole

Hello Robert
We saw your massive unnamed loggerhead turtle on July 8, 2004 –at Tori’s Reef. She swam right up to us and checked us out. Very calm and curious. My buddy had a snorkel in his hand. She put her nose on it, to investigate. She then greeted the other divers in our group and swam a bit more nestled down for a nap. We were so amazed and thrilled to have an experience with her. How old do you think she is? I would love to have additional pictures of her. We can also send you our underwater photos and video clip.
Thanks!
Karen, Dave, Colleen, Rick, Cheryl, Tom, and Joe

Hi Karen,

Robert doesn't monitor this board but I will attempt to answer your question. Robert's guess-timate of Extra's age is that she is probably over 40 years old. Did the loggerhead you saw have the transmitter affixed? Extra was fitted with her transmitter on the morning of July 8 right off Klein Bonaire so it may not have been her that you saw on Tori's. I'll check with him and see if he is interest in your offer regarding pics/video. I'll also see about sending additional pictures to you.

Andy

Karen,

My mistake, the transmitter wasn't placed on Extra until July 9th -- sorry.

Andy