Wayne Witzell and Jeff Schmid spend their days patiently watching the waters for turtles coming up for a breath of air. The average catch is about one per day. By capturing turtles, determining their diet, measuring them and tagging them, Witzell and Schmid hope to fill in gaps in knowledge about the little-studied creatures. Kemp's ridleys are even in this area. There was no information at all.
Any data is good data.
Coming by that data, however, is tedious and time-consuming. The process is marked by long stagnant blocks of time interrupted by short bursts of activity. Witzell and Schmid's days in the field start early in Goodland. Before a particular outing in August, Witzell reached into a blue plastic tub on the dock, pulling out a turtle they captured the day before. Look at him, he likes to fly.