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BRAZILIAN TURTLE CONSERVATION PROJECT

by Luiz Bispo | 18-05-2015 09:30



The Tamar is a non-profit organization in Brazil, which runs a project in order to try to save the endangered sea turtles. This organization had partnership with Florida Atlantic University, under the coordination of the researcher Kate Mansfield and with support from the NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration).


A new step of the study started in 2012 will indicate some aspects of the behavior of two endangered species that spawn in the Brazilian coast.


The Loggerhead sea turtle went to sea in November 2012 at first in the 10 km of the coast of Praia do Forte in Bahia. Then, in April, July and November 2013, more fifteen animals are monitored by satellite. Now, in March 2015, five of the species Hawksbill turtles were also released.


Despite decades of study, there is not many information about the early stage of life of sea turtles in oceanic water the researchers called this period as "lost years". It is important to find out where the turtles are going and identify the nursery areas for the conservation and management of these species.


The national coordinator of research and conservation of the Project Tamar explains that this experiments that is getting developed in Brazil were carried out in the United States. Little turtles born in Florida (July to December), travel fast when the Culf current and the North Atlantic subtropical gyre coincide with each other. They choose the surface of the sea as habitats and swim in various direction for their destination.


The Loggerhead turtles of the North coast of Bahia are already born (from November to May) and are subject to be in many various directions due to strong currents. Those that were released in 2012, 2013 and 2015 so far followed in the same direction of the currents. Preliminary results show that the initial trajectories of the turtles born in Brazil are parallel to the coast (along the continental slope) and they follow to oceanic waters in Florida.