Loggerhead turtle movements in the Southern California Bight

Original provider:
NOAA NMFS

Dataset credits:
Data provider
NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science Center
Originating data center
<a href='http://www.seaturtle.org/tracking/' target='_blank'>Satellite Tracking and Analysis Tool (STAT)</a>
Project partner
This project is under the leadership of scientists at the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). This federal organization is responsible for effective management of our U.S. based fisheries. To do so requires that management decisions be based on the best available science. This project is developed to generate such information, particularly as it relates to fisheries time-area closures in the Southern California Bight.
Project sponsor or sponsor description
This project is a collaboration among scientists at the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service's Southwest Fisheries Science Center in La Jolla, CA, and the NMFS West Coast Regional Office in Long Beach, CA. The Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, CA is a key partner and has served as the rehabilitation institution for two turtles (Coco and Char Char) tracked so far as part of this project. SeaWorld - San Diego has also been a key contributor, serving as the rehabilitation center for Ruth. Additional partners include ICAPO and Ralph Pace Photography. The NMFS permit number for Coco's satellite tracking research is 14510.

Abstract:
Endangered North Pacific loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) are distributed widely throughout the North Pacific Ocean. Scientists have known that juvenile loggerhead turtles originating from Japanese nesting beaches cross the Pacific Ocean to access the productive waters off the Pacific Coast of North America, although the movements of these loggerhead turtles in U.S. waters of southern California are poorly understood. This project's goal is to track the movements of juvenile loggerheads in this portion of the California Current Large Marine Ecosystem. Understanding their movement patterns, and how they relate to oceanographic conditions in the region will provide significant information for management efforts aimed at reducing human impacts to loggerheads in this area.