2009 MHS Drama Classes present turtles to Saipan Elementary Schools

Last year, Harold Easton's Drama II and III classes developed and presented a puppet show featuring legends from the region and some contemporary information about local sea turtles. Mr. Easton plans to again champion sea turtle issues this year by having his speech classes read children's books on local television and radio shows.

Eating Sea Turtle Can Kill

You've probably heard of ciguatera or fish poisoning in the tropics, but in some cases sea turtles appear to harbor a similar, unidentified- but sometimes deadly- toxin. A case of sea turtle poisoning killed a mother her 7-year old and 5-month old children along with sickening 17 other people. The 5-month old apparently ingested the poison through the mother's breast milk. See the original report at http://www.dailynews.co.tz.

Satellite Tagging Coming Soon to a Turtle Near You

NOAA NMFS PIRO has provided two satellite tags to CNMI's Sea Turtle Program for deployment on sub-adult turtles. The tags are destined for turtles being tagged as part of the in-water tagging program and will provide additional insight into how far non-nesting turtles are traveling. One mystery is still whether juveniles and subadults found around CNMI are residents or just passing through. Tagged turtles from in water captures have rarely been recaptured!

The tag in the image is about 10 cm long and 5 cm wide. Location information is sent via the ARGOS satellite when the turtle is on the surface and the flexible antenna is out of the water.