Kayla Sargent
Where do you spend your lost years, little ...

In late October, a collaborative team of researchers from Two Oceans Aquarium Foundation and Upwell took a boat into the swift Agulhas Current, the southwest boundary current of the Indian Ocean that runs down the east coast of South Africa. There, they released 12 tiny loggerhead turtles with satellite tags attached to their carapace (top shells) in an effort to understand how these turtles are using this oceanic highway. See where these turtles have traveled over their first weeks in the ocean!

Where do you spend your lost years, little turtle?
Kayla Sargent
Diving Into Underwater Photography with Nuno ...

Nuno Vasco Rodrigues is a Marine Biologist and researcher at MARE IPLeiria. He was named “Conservation Photographer of the Year” by Ocean Geographic Society in 2021. For the past three years, Nuno has photographed Upwell’s work tagging juvenile loggerhead turtles in the Azores Archipelago in partnership with the COSTA Project and the University of the Azores, which is part of Upwell’s Lost Years Initiative. Nuno took some time to chat with us about the highlights and challenges of documenting sea turtle releases underwater. 

Diving Into Underwater Photography with Nuno Vasco Rodrigues
Kayla Sargent
Researcher Interview: Analyzing Data from ...

With a team of collaborators, we tested new specially-designed prototypes of Lotek microsatellite tags on 160 juvenile sea turtles of four species in the North Atlantic. The data from these tags was published in a new article, "Novel Microsatellite Tags Hold Promise for Illuminating the Lost Years in Four Sea Turtle Species." We sat down with lead-author Tony Candela to talk about this article, his process as lead-author, and the important implications of these findings for the bio-logging community.

Researcher Interview: Analyzing Data from Microsatellite Tags on Juvenile Sea Turtles
Bycatch, Sea Turtle Tracking
Kayla Sargent
Leatherback Saved by Fisher-Researcher ...

When fishermen and researchers collaborate, they create opportunities to amplify efforts for the research and conservation of sea turtles. This past spring, Upwell participated in these efforts by providing a satellite tag for Liam Neythan, a leatherback sea turtle that was saved in Sinaloa, Mexico. Our collaborators, the fishers Edmundo Rafael Garcías Burgos and Mariano García Olivas, as well as Dr. Alan Zavala Norzagaray and the CIIDIR IPN Unidad Sinaloa are the key collaborators and heroes in this story.

Leatherback Saved by Fisher-Researcher Collaboration in Sinaloa
Leatherbacks, Sea Turtle Monitoring, Protecting Endangered Lea
Kayla Sargent
Aerial Surveys Result in One-of-a-Kind Finds

Upwell Research Project Technician Sierra Fullmer shares some of her most exciting sightings while conducting aerial surveys to look for leatherbacks off of the US West Coast.

Aerial Surveys Result in One-of-a-Kind Finds

satellite tracking

Tortuga laúd salvada a través de la colaboración entre pescadores e investigadores en Sinaloa

Tortuga laúd salvada a través de la colaboración entre pescadores e investigadores en Sinaloa

Cuando pescadores e investigadores colaboran se crean oportunidades para unir y amplificar esfuerzos orientados a la investigación y conservación de las tortugas marinas. Durante la primavera pasada, Upwell participó en estos esfuerzos proporcionando una etiqueta satelital para Liam Neythan, una tortuga laúd que fue salvada en Sinaloa, México. Nuestros colaboradores, los pescadores Edmundo Rafael Garcías Burgos y Mariano García Olivas, así como el Dr. Alan Zavala Norzagaray y el CIIDIR IPN Unidad Sinaloa fueron los protagonistas de esta historia.

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Ember the Juvenile Loggerhead Swims out into the Atlantic!

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Ember the Juvenile Loggerhead Swims out into the Atlantic!

Ember the juvenile loggerhead sea turtle was released off the coast of Florida with a microsatellite tag on October 28th, 2022. This blog is the second in a series covering Ember’s rescue, recovery, and oceanic journey.

Update from the field: Juvenile green sea turtle tagging in the Cayman Islands

Update from the field: Juvenile green sea turtle tagging in the Cayman Islands

Upwell recently partnered with the Cayman Turtle Centre on Grand Cayman Island to deploy microsatellite tags on 30 captive-reared green sea turtles of different age classes. By releasing sea turtles of different age classes from the same location at the same time, we are examining how variables such as age and size may influence the likelihood of encountering optimal foraging habitats and decreasing the risk of early mortality.

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Unraveling the Mystery of the “Lost Years” in the Azores

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Unraveling the Mystery of the “Lost Years” in the Azores

Upwell’s Executive Director, Dr. George Shillinger, and Upwell Researcher Dr. Sean Williamson recently traveled to the Azores for the unique opportunity to satellite-tag juvenile loggerheads being rehabilitated at the Aquário Porto Pim before their release into the North Atlantic.

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Bon Voyage, Bumpy!

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Bon Voyage, Bumpy!

In October of 2021, Upwell and our partners from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) tagged one of the largest leatherbacks ever encountered in the California Current foraging zone weighing in at 1,419 pounds! This massive male leatherback was dubbed “Bumpy” because of the distinctive bumps on the rear of his carapace, which were likely caused by a prior ship strike. Find out more about where Bumpy has traveled.

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PRESS RELEASE - Massive leatherback sea turtle satellite tagged in California waters

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PRESS RELEASE - Massive leatherback sea turtle satellite tagged in California waters

Upwell and NOAA Fisheries are monitoring and protecting California’s leatherbacks with satellite technology. Researchers in October captured a massive Pacific leatherback turtle off California that they had caught and released once before in 2016.

Local Gifts Can Help Turtles This Holiday Season

Local Gifts Can Help Turtles This Holiday Season

We all know buying local reduces carbon emissions and can help combat climate change, but did you know it can also help reduce threats to sea turtles? International shipping often relies on the use of massive cargo ships to transport goods across our oceans. Sea turtle migration paths can intersect with vessel traffic and nearshore shipping lanes can overlap with important foraging habitats.

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Novel tracking technology sheds light on leatherback “lost years”

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Novel tracking technology sheds light on leatherback “lost years”

New technologies are finally shedding light on one of the greatest mysteries in sea turtle biology. Using prototype “micro-satellite” tags specifically designed to fit juvenile leatherback turtles, Upwell and Florida Atlantic University researchers released eighteen captive reared juvenile leatherbacks to track their movements off the coast of Florida and shed light on the “lost years” phase of their lives.

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Studying Turtles at Sea Offers Deeper Insights

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Studying Turtles at Sea Offers Deeper Insights

Data collected at nesting beaches give us only a brief glimpse into sea turtles’ intricate life histories. Satellite tags are one of the best tools available to collect data on sea turtle movements and behaviors in marine habitats. But where tags are deployed matters. Deploying tags at nesting beaches means we are limiting our research scope to the females within a population that are nesting in a given year.

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Saving Sea Turtles with Technology

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Saving Sea Turtles with Technology

You might not think of someone behind a desk as working on the frontlines of sea turtle conservation, but Upwell’s Oceanographic Researcher, Tony Candela is doing just that. Tony is incorporating mathematics and oceanography to simulate the movements of hatchling and juvenile sea turtles to advance protections for them at sea.