Satellite tagging research to help turtle population survive

A major effort to tag and track leatherbacks that nest on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica has yielded unprecedented insight into their behavior. Still, pinpointing some of the possible causes of their decline is difficult and figuring out where conservationists might be able to help is proving to be very challenging.

Researchers from the Tagging of Pacific Predators (TOPP) program may have found what could be the key to the leatherbacks' salvation.

In contrast to most sea turtles, including other populations of leatherbacks, the leatherbacks from the beaches at Playa Grande, Costa Rica have been found to consistently follow a relatively narrow corridor out into the sea, past the Galapagos Islands and across the equator to an area in the South Pacific where they tend to stay for some time. This is very different from other turtle populations which dispers more widely when they fan out across the ocean from the beaches where they nest.

Knowing where the turtles travel at a certain time could help protecting them by f.ex. banning fishing etc. in the area for a limited time period. This could help the turtles to stay out of fishing nets and longlines.