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Upwell’s Executive Director, Dr. George Shillinger, recognized that the rehabilitated early-stage juveniles at the Aquarium La Rochelle CESTM were perfect candidates for Lotek microsatellite tags and invited CESTM to join Upwell’s Lost Years Initiative, kicking off the collaboration with the tagging of 10 juvenile loggerheads in late July. Over the past two months, the turtles have shown a range of behavior, including surprisingly deep dives for turtles of such a young age!
Each year, the Upwell and NOAA Fisheries team conduct aerial and vessel-based surveys for leatherback sea turtles off the US West Coast. The data from these surveys can be put into action to protect the critically endangered West Pacific leatherback population. During August and September of 2024 the collaborative team documented their efforts in an engaging web series called Looking for Leatherbacks.
Expanding efforts to monitor critically endangered West Pacific leatherbacks, Upwell is teaming up with Monash University in Australia and New Zealand’s Department of Conservation and National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, and our partners at NOAA to design and conduct aerial surveys for leatherback abundance in the Bay of Plenty. New Zealand has become a focus of attention for leatherback conservation and bycatch prevention, and these surveys will provide critical data to support these growing efforts.