Satellite Tracking of Sea Turtles

With the roads through Gulf Islands National Seashore still closed from hurricane damage, we did not try attaching a satellite transmitter to a sea turtle during the summer of 2006.  Hopefully, we will try again during the 2007 nesting season.  Watch this site for updates and information on our attempts to tag another turtle.

If successful, the Escambia County Marine Extension program will provide latitude and longitude tracking coordinates for you.  The coordinates from previous turtles we have tracked are still posted at this site.  Contact the marine extension agent for blank maps for tracking the turtles or use your hurricane tracking chart.

To find out where sea turtles spend the majority of the year, scientists track the turtles using satellites.  Whenever the turtle surfaces to breath, a transmitter glued to its shell sends signals to satellites in space.  These satellites relay the turtle’s location to scientists.  Using this information, scientists can determine if there are special locations in the Gulf of Mexico or Atlantic Ocean that sea turtles utilize which require additional protection from human influences.

 

2003 Season

Amie was tagged with a satellite transmitter on July 23rd at Fort Pickens Park on Pensacola Beach.  Unfortunately, she knocked her transmitter off only a few weeks after it was attached.  Read more about Amie by heading to her page where more photographs and a video clip should be posted soon.

2002 Season

Gulf Islands National Seashore began its third season of attaching satellite transmitters to female sea turtles on June 23, 2002.  Two turtles were tagged during the summer.  "Kelsea", a loggerhead turtle, was released with a satellite transmitter attached to her carapace around 1:00am on June 25th.  On July 22 at 6:00am, a green turtle named "Halie" was released with a satellite transmitter.  Click on their names at the left for more information.  

2001 Season

During the summer of 2001, Gulf Islands National Seashore attached satellite transmitters to two female loggerhead sea turtles.  As of June 2002, both turtles were still transmitting signals.  "Beroe" was tagged with a satellite transmitter and released on July 14, 2001.  "Kendi" was fitted with a transmitter and released on July 28, 2001.  Click on their links at left for photos and more information.

2000 Season

During the summer of 2000, Gulf Islands National Seashore attached transmitters to two female sea turtles after they had nested in Escambia County.   “Sandy” foraged in the same location south-east of Galveston, TX since shortly after the transmitter was attached on June 28, 2000.  “Shelly”  spent most of the winter off Apalachicola, FL although she briefly swam southwest of Tampa Bay during the coldest part of the winter.  The transmitters generally fall off after about one year and both stopped sending signals during the summer of 2001.  You can view Sandy and Shelly's migrations by clicking here.