Sea Sense satellite tracked green sea turtles from Tanzania 2012 under SWIOFP

Original provider:
Sea Sense

Dataset credits:
Sea Sense
Institut Français pour L'Exploitation de la Mer
Kélonia

Abstract:
Satellite tags were deployed on three nesting green turtles (Chelonia mydas) between March and July 2012 to address data gaps concerning the spatial dynamics of green turtle nesting populations in Tanzania. Tags were deployed in Temeke District which supports one of the largest green turtle rookeries in Tanzania.

Tag durations ranged from 24 to 36 days. All three individuals went on to lay further clutches of eggs after tag deployment which provided valuable data on inter-nesting behaviour. Two individuals spent their inter-nesting periods at the same location, 30km south of the nesting grounds.

Two of the tags failed before post-nesting migrations commenced. One of the turtles was tracked during a post nesting migration to a foraging ground on the north-west coast of Pemba Island (Tanzania).

This was the first sea turtle satellite telemetry project ever to be carried out in Tanzania and has confirmed the location of an important foraging ground in Pemba Island and a site utilised by gravid females during inter-nesting periods.