San Francisco De Borja Parish--Rota Fiesta

The weekend of October 8-9, 2011 sea turtle program staff traveled to Rota for the San Francisco De Borja Parish Fiesta. There we collaborated with Brown Tree Snake program staff and the Fruit Bat biologist to organize a DFW education booth at the Fiesta. This successful event was a first for the sea turtle program and we were greeted warmly by Rota residents and schoolchildren. Freebies such as turtle coloring acitivity books, bat tattoos, and snake stickers were big hits with the kids! Although the rain put a damper on our sign, it didn't stop approximately 100 children from playing the turtle trivia game to win prizes and learn fun facts about sea turtles. We even had one Rota High School student drop by and ask where the school's satellite tagged turtle, Magas was last seen. We want to thank Rota residents for welcoming us and we hope to make this an annual event within the sea turtle program.

A Shared International Resource

The satellite tracking project in Saipan was featured as the profile of the month in the Indian Ocean SouthEast Asian (IOSEA) newsletter: Saipan Sea Turtles An Internationally-Shared Resource. Please take a look when you have a chance and feel free to share: http://www.ioseaturtles.org/pom_detail.php?id=114.

Unfortunately we have stopped receiving transmissions from Kumiko - 1st turtle to reach the Philippines, but the other two are still transmitting and updates should be coming soon. Also, it appears that our international exchange goals are beginning to materialize with interest expressed from partners in the Philippines and a short documentary under development by a Japanese film crew currently filming in Saipan.

Needless to say, stay tuned for more...

Track update - Aug 10

This is track update for Aug 10, 2011. It looks like our first turtle, Kumiko, has finally reached the Philippines! We look forward to seeing which foraging habitat she finaly chooses. Our second turtle, Magas, appears to be heading north possibly Japan, although currently east of Taiwan. Our third female, Limwamway, just laid her 9th nest!! Amazing to say the least. She has yet to migrate, but her transmitter appears in good condition (paced after her 4th nesting event) and we await her impending migration; assuming she's done nesting! This season continues to teach us both about the biology of these amazing animals as well as provide valuable insights to their international migrations, connecting the Western Pacific and Asian regions!

Education Outreach event at Wing beach

On July 25, 2011 DLNR Sea Turtle Program staff hosted an education outreach event on Wing Beach for Oleai and San Vicente Elementary School's summer science program and Eco-camp participants. Approximately 200 students witnessed DLNR staff perform a nest inventory and the release of two straggler hatchlings while learning fun facts about sea turtle biology.

Kumiko continues traveling west...

The latest track from Kumiko, at liberty 56 days, and she is still traveling west, perhaps heading towards the Philippines! While the track seems to show a straight line remember we are connecting the dots between transmissions. It is anyone's guess what she does between data points, but her consistent (deliberate) movement west is interesting and telling.

Volunteers assist with nest inventory of Kumiko's 2nd nest

Satellite tagged turtle Kumiko's 2nd nest hatched on July 10, 2011 at Bird Island Beach. CNMI Sea Turtle Program staff performed a nest inventory on July 13th to evaluate hatch and emergence success for this nest. There were 4 hatchlings trapped in the nest by roots and rocks and volunteers helped to release them. The hatch success rate was 82.9% while the emergence success was 76.8%.

Saipan Sea Turtles Featured in Hafadai Magazine

The July 2011 issue of Hafadai magazine, a publication primarily targeting Japanese-speaking tourists, featured recent Saipan sea turtle activities on the cover (image at right), a 'pagelet' on satellite tagging with the table of contents and an article (Hafadai-versity No.36) covers the recent nest hatching at Bird Island.