Tagged Sea Turtles Reporting Safe After Irma
3 Oct 20178:17 AM
Five green sea turtles that came ashore to nest on Broward County, Fl. beaches in the past couple months have reported safe to scientists with the Nova Southeastern University/ Broward County Sea Turtle …
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![](mailto:?subject=Tagged Sea Turtles Reporting Safe After Irma&body=Five green sea turtles that came ashore to nest on Broward County, Fl. beaches in the past couple months have reported safe to scientists with the Nova Southeastern University/ Broward County Sea Turtle Conservation Program in the wake of Hurricane Irma.
Dr. Derek Burkholder-- a research scientist at NSU's Guy Harvey Research Institute who heads the program--and colleague Glenn Goodwin, a Nova PhD student, glued satellite tags to the animals' shells after they completed depositing their eggs and were returning to the ocean. The tags beam the turtles' locations every time they surface, which is downloaded to the scientists' computers. The study subjects have kept in touch ever since-- even in the thick of Irma's onslaught.
"Everybody sought out deeper water or at least moved away from where things were rough," Goodwin wrote in an email. "Afterward, everyone returned to their normal areas, except Therese who wandered around, then ended up near Key West."
The tags usually transmit for about a year-- time enough for the scientists to try to solve several mysteries that are key to conserving the threatened and endangered reptiles: where do green and loggerhead turtles come from to nest in South Florida; how frequently do they come here; and where do they go between nesting events. Genetic samples taken during tagging will show whether sea turtle populations along the U.S. east coast are linked.
"We don't know what this population does when it leaves here," Burkholder said. "This project is to learn where they end up: who's going where and who's playing with who."
That information is vital to sea turtle conservation, Burkholder said, because it informs management decisions at the state, regional and federal levels, such as whether the animals are nesting and travelling through areas with high fishing and boating pressure that might warrant additional regulations.
<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Therese20170910-Irma-002-e1507034887821.png"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-4915" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Therese20170910-Irma-002-e1507034887821.png" alt="" width="711" height="400" /></a>
"Giving them the protection they need when they need it and where they need it," Goodwin said.
In addition to the five with satellite tags, seven others were implanted with internal chips and wear external tags so that divers and anglers who encounter them can report their locations.
While the animals handled Irma just fine, their nests on Broward beaches did not; over half were swept away by winds and waves. Fortunately, it happened late in the nesting season rather than the mid-summer peak.
Broward County's Sea Turtle Conservation program has been in operation for 28 years -- focused primarily on monitoring and protecting nests from various threats and gauging hatching success. So far this season, surveyors have counted 3,337 nests--2,692 loggerheads; 634 greens and 11 leatherbacks on 24 miles of beach (excluding Mizell-Johnson State Park). It was a record year for greens; the previous mark was 500 in 2012. Nova Southeastern University and the Broward County Sea Turtle Conservation Program are part of a network dedicated to sea turtle conservation that includes several volunteer organizations --Sea Turtle Oversight Protection (STOP), the South Florida Audubon Society, and Sea Turtle Awareness Rescue Stranding (STARS). The volunteers work tirelessly throughout the season to help protect sea turtle hatchlings by redirecting them away from disorienting coastal lighting back to the moon- and star-lit ocean.
The three-year tagging study is funded by a $45,000 grant from the Community Foundation of Broward County. But the program could use some help, since each tag costs upwards of $4,500. The first turtle to be tagged was named George Finley (even though it's a female) after the winner of Guy Harvey Outpost's May sweepstakes.
If you would like to sponsor a tag for next season, contact Burkholder at dburkholder@nova.edu or call 954-262-3673.
https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/tagged-sea-turtles-reporting-safe-after-irma/){kind=link}
![](mailto:?subject=Regular Lobster Season: It’s Not Just for Bugs Anymore&body=<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/ACE0110-e1502201546903.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-4855" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/ACE0110-e1502201546903.jpg" alt="" width="599" height="400" /></a>Scuba diving about 45 feet deep on a coral-dotted ledge off Pompano Beach, FL., my dive buddy and I were startled by a spreading cloud of sand in the near-distance. We kicked over to the source of the plume and were amazed and delighted to see a huge loggerhead sea turtle with its head stuck deep in the ledge. As we paused to watch, it fanned the water column frantically with its flippers, widening the cloud of sediment around it.
It was very obvious to us that the turtle was not trapped in the ledge; instead, it was bent on the same mission as we were that day: trying to pry stubborn spiny lobsters from their caves to eat for dinner.
The turtle thrashed around for another minute or so then withdrew its head from the ledge. Not at all happy to see us, it scowled. I gave it a little wave farewell and it swam off. No point in checking out the ledge any further. Either our reluctant new buddy had gulped whatever lay in there, or so terrified the inhabitants that they would never be pried out.
Now that Florida's regular lobster season is open through March 31, bug hunters can relax, take deep breaths, get over the manic surface warfare known as mini-season, and enjoy the full harvest experience-- such as encounters with other sea life.
The lengthy season allows for a slow, calm exploration of the reefs, solution holes, channels and grass flats where you may find the sought-after crustaceans-- or not. The recreational bag limit is six per person per day statewide, so there's no more frenzied two-day push to cram live wells and coolers full of more entrees than you'll probably eat in a month.
Instead, you can achieve a fuller appreciation of the many exhilarating sights and sounds (and other ancillary benefits) that will accompany your hunt.
Besides an excellent chance of encountering sea turtles, you are almost guaranteed to come upon lionfish-- those feisty, peppermint-striped exotics with the flaring mane from the Indo-Pacific. Lionfish love to lurk in coral caverns and beneath ledges-- the same habitat as lobsters. Unlike the bugs, lionfish are legal to spear and there are no bag or size limits. Be wary of their venomous spines; you can't carry them around in a standard mesh catch bag with your bugs. Your best bet is a container made of sturdy PVC such as the Zookeeper. And they are an excellent accompaniment to lobster on the grill or sauté pan.
Hogfish also are likely to be found milling around out in the open around the lobster grounds, and they can be fairly easy to nail with a pole spear or spear gun. But on Aug. 24, new regulations will take effect lowering the bag limit, increasing the size limit and shortening the harvest season. Know before you go by visiting <a href="http://myfwc.com/fishing/saltwater/recreational/hogfish/">myfwc.com/fishing/saltwater/recreational/hogfish/</a>.
Other creatures you are sure to find on your bug hunts are nurse sharks and triggerfish. Both like to eat lobster so they're never too far away. On many dives, I've seen nurse sharks slumbering in caves in the daytime-- probably after enjoying a fresh lobster meal. But unless you molest the shark by grabbing or poking it, it generally will leave you alone.
Not so, the triggerfish. If these pesky reef-dwellers grew as big as sharks, no one would venture into the ocean. Aggressive and territorial, they will try to bite through your catch bag to steal your bugs and they will even bite you to get you to leave their area. I know several divers (myself included) who always wear a neoprene hood or beanie while lobster hunting because triggerfish are known to go for the earlobe. Even swordplay with your tickler stick often fails to ward them off. If you find yourself thrusting around like a knight in "Game of Thrones" to defend your ground, then it's time to leave.
If you really want to eat lobsters and don't want to a) get wet or b) go to Publix, then perhaps you should try bully netting. That's the practice of idling around the shallows at night in a small boat equipped with underwater lights and carrying a long-handled net. Lobsters are known to depart their coral caves after dark to feed on smaller prey on adjacent grass flats in Biscayne Bay and Florida Bay. They are very easy to spot in two to four feet of water with proper lighting and you can just plop the net over them. It's often quicker and easier than underwater hunting. In a bully netting trip a couple years ago, our party of three bagged a limit of 18 in just two hours.
Florida's lobster regulations during regular season differ from those of mini-season, so be sure you are up-to-date-- especially in the Keys. Go to <a href="http://www.myfwc.com/fishing/saltwater/recreational/lobster/">www.myfwc.com/fishing/saltwater/recreational/lobster/</a> for the full rundown.
Now let's go fetch some Lobster Thermidor. https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/regular-lobster-season-its-not-just-for-bugs-anymore/){kind=link}
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