Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Turtle tagging training

Intern Olivia Couchman nd staff member Sara Calçada had the opportunity to join the Caribbean Conservation Corporation (CCC) one night this week, to experience how another turtle programme works. Although our objectives are the same, the means to achieve them are not.

Tortuguero Beach, where the CCC work, is one of the largest nesting beaches for green turtles in the world. With tens of thousands of tourist flooding to the area named for the turtles it receives, tourism is a big part of the conservation effort across the river-mouth from us.

Between 8pm and midnight tourists, led by licensed guides, observe all eight stages of the turtle’s nesting activities. Because of this, the CCC perform their more detailed work on the midnight to 4am survey. Unlike on our beach in which we stay with the turtle throughout all stages, before midnight the CCC’s main priority is to encounter the turtle after she has laid in order to tag and measure her.

With the number of turtles on the beach (1,500 full tracks in one night recorded on the following morning) they can walk past turtles until they find one in the required stage. This provides a fantastic opportunity for tagging training for our staff.
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