4/5/2016

Indian Ocean ­ South­East Asian Marine Turtle Memorandum of Understanding

Profile of the MonthHigh­seas releases of Pacific loggerheads from ships of opportunity( Apr 2016 )Source: G.H. Balazs (1), M. Rice (2), D. Parker (3) and J. Polovina (1)Photos: Photos and figures c/o Denise Parker (JIMAR) and Marc Rice (HPA)
George Balazs has kindly given permission to reproduce the contents of an informative poster
presented at the recent International Sea Turtle Symposium, held in Lima, Peru. The following
abstract summarises two decades of work aimed at understanding more about the migration of Pacificloggerhead turtles.
As the abstract points out in its conclusion, many more analyses can be made of the acquired data foryears to come. The abstract mentions a dozen scientific papers that have already been publishedbetween 2000 and 2014, and which are available for viewing (see URL below).
As a bonus to readers in South­East Asia, at the very end of this note we also draw attention tosatellite tracking studies that demonstrate the movements of another species, green turtles, from theFederated States of Micronesia and the Republic of the Marshall Islands, respectively, into the watersof Malaysia, Philippines, and Viet Nam.

*****Life on the high seas is one of the last great frontiers for sea turtle exploration, inquiry, and discovery.
In the Pacific Ocean, significant progress has begun in understanding the ecology and oceanic
movements of juvenile pelagic loggerheads in northern and southern hemispheres comprising distinct
genetic stocks derived from nesting beaches in Japan and New Caledonia/Australia respectively.
Our advances in knowledge to date have been made possible by the availability of smaller satellite­
linked tracking tags and the enhanced sensitivity of CLS Argos receivers on board orbiting satellites.
The photo at left shows an array of SPOT5 satellite tags prior to their attachment to juvenile
loggerhead turtles at Aquarium des Lagons, Nouvelle Caledonie.

We have overcome the immense challenge of directly capturing immature loggerheads on the highseas by substituting robust aquarium­reared turtles transported by ship for offshore release. Trained
shipboard observers have also satellite­tagged and released pelagic long line by­catch turtles on the
http://www.ioseaturtles.org/print.php?module=Profile%20of%20the%20Month&id=177

1/5

4/5/2016

Indian Ocean ­ South­East Asian Marine Turtle Memorandum of Understanding

high seas. Turtles incidentally taken in offshore commercial pound nets targeting pelagic fish have also
contributed to our international research partnership program.
From 1997­2012, 523 loggerheads with satellite tags have been released, 374 of which were aquarium
reared involving 14 deployments after 2003 from eight different ships, including cargo vessels, fisherytraining ships, a passenger liner, a French Navy ship, a fishing vessel, and a whale­watching tour boat.

Eighty­eight turtles from the New Caledonia Aquarium des Lagons were released south of the equator,and 286 from the Port of Nagoya Public Aquarium Japan were released in northern latitudes. The
following photo on the left shows preparations for the release of juvenile loggerheads (48 in total)from a cargo ship southwest of New Caledonia; and on the right juveniles are released off the coast ofJapan.

Carapace lengths ranged from 23­75 cm. Deployment locations included: the Kuroshio Current off
Japan (30­35°N, 131­141°E); the Sea of Japan (37°N, 136°E); midway between Japan and Hawaii(33°N, 176°E), midway between New Caledonia and New Zealand (30°S, 171°E); and 200nm
southwest of New Caledonia (25°S, 163°E).
Tracking lasted up to 1434 days in the northern hemisphere and 764 days in southern latitudes.
Maximum distance traveled by a northern­stock turtle was 25,900 km and 15,290 km for a southern­stock turtle.
The following figures illustrate the satellite tracks of juvenile loggerheads raised at the Port of Nagoya
Public Aquarium, Japan, and released into the North Pacific Ocean; and of juvenile loggerheads raised
http://www.ioseaturtles.org/print.php?module=Profile%20of%20the%20Month&id=177

2/5

4/5/2016

Indian Ocean ­ South­East Asian Marine Turtle Memorandum of Understanding

at Aquarium des Lagons, Nouvelle Caledonie, and released into the South Pacific Ocean.

Detailed findings to date of our pelagic loggerhead investigations are presented in 12 journal
publications available at: < http://akepa.hpa.edu/~mrice/sop/Pelagic.html >.
Three overall conclusions can be drawn from the success of our work: 1) International partnerships of
mutual understanding, trust, and goodwill are essential to study sea turtle populations that span an
ocean basin; 2) Aquarium­reared loggerheads released into appropriate high­seas habitats are
acceptable replacements for the research of wild­captured turtles; and 3) Our voluminous archive of
tracking data constitutes a significant resource for additional analytical approaches involving
collaboration.
Author affiliations:(1) National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Inouye Regional Center, National MarineFisheries Service, Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, Honolulu, Hawaii 96818 USA
http://www.ioseaturtles.org/print.php?module=Profile%20of%20the%20Month&id=177

3/5

4/5/2016

Indian Ocean ­ South­East Asian Marine Turtle Memorandum of Understanding(2) Hawaii Preparatory Academy, 65­1692 Kohala Mountain Road, Kamuela, Hawaii 96743(3) Joint Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research, NOAA, Newport, Oregon 97365 USA*****Ed. Readers in South­East Asia — particularly Malaysia, Philippines, and Viet Nam — will be interested
in two additional papers that also make use of satellite tracking technology to reveal the movements ofpost­nesting green turtles from the Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of the MarshallIslands, respectively:(1) Kolinski et al. (2014) Migrations & Conservation Implications of Post­Nesting Green
Turtles from Gielop, Ulithi, FSM. Micronesica 14­04(2) Parker et al. 2015. Conservation considerations revealed by the movements of post­
nesting green turtles from the Republic of the Marshall Islands. Micronesica 15­03
Please visit http://micronesica.org/ for more details of these papers.

Figure from Kolinski et al. (2014) showing 2005 and 2006 green turtle migration routes following
nesting activities at Gielop Island, Federated States of Micronesia:

Figure from Parker et al (2015) showing the 2007­2008 post­nesting movement of five green turtles
from Erikub Atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands:

http://www.ioseaturtles.org/print.php?module=Profile%20of%20the%20Month&id=177

4/5

4/5/2016

Indian Ocean ­ South­East Asian Marine Turtle Memorandum of Understanding

As Parker et al. rightly point out, both of these studies demonstrate "the international connectivity ofgreen turtles nesting in this area and the results can be used to exchange information and enhance
regional conservation efforts between nations that share these endangered and culturally important
turtle resources".

Original URL: http://www.ioseaturtles.org/pom_detail.php?id=177
Printed: 5 April 2016, 11:44 PM, ICT© IOSEA Marine Turtle MoU Secretariat, c/o UNEP Regional Office for Asia and the PacificUnited Nations Building, Rajdamnern Avenue, Bangkok, 10200, Thailand
Tel: + (662) 288 1471 ; Fax: + (662) 280 3829 ; E­mail: iosea@un.org
Print

http://www.ioseaturtles.org/print.php?module=Profile%20of%20the%20Month&id=177

5/5