Saturday, January 21, 2012
Sea Turtle Tracking Update
Our last check on Bonaire’s tagged sea turtles had Jklynn being outfitted with her transmitter, as mentioned in a previous story. On December 11, 2011, satellite signals indicated that she had started her migration home in a northerly direction.
Jklynn continued moving north and by December 22nd, the female hawksbill was just 80 kilometers south of the Dominican Republic, swimming 716 kilometers or 445 miles to get there. She was close to the boundary of Jaragua National Park, which is the largest protected area of the Dominican Republic and includes forests, mangroves and marine ecosystems. It is also known as a feeding areas for hawksbills, especially juveniles. Although Jklynn was close to protected waters, she was also very close to Haitian waters, where she was not protected from being harvested.
Even Jaragua Park, while being a protected area, still suffers from egg poaching and illegal harvesting of turtles. Efforts to protect migratory turtles like Jklynn have been a priority for Sea Turtle Conservation Bonaire (STCB) in recent years, as they have worked with regional partners to increase protection for sea turtles, no matter where they go during their migrations. Illegal harvesting and legal protection are still areas of concern.
After the December 22nd tracking signal, there were no further tracking signals for 24 days until January 15, when Jklynn’s transmitter showed her to be in the coastal waters at Jaragua National Park on the west coast of the park in Bahia de Las Aguilas (Eagle Bay). This location has one of the Dominican Republic’s most beautiful beaches and is an area where some hawksbill and many leatherback turtles nest. Looking at her average rate of speed, STCB believes she travelled from Bonaire to that area in approximately 13 days. It is also believed that since she headed in this direction after leaving Bonaire and because she has remained in these waters for several weeks, that this is her home foraging ground. (Source: Sea Turtle Conservation Bonaire)
