Rare 

 Leatherbacks 

 Hatch 



After much anticipation, a nest 

 of rare leatherback sea turtles hatched in 

 late August on Bogue Banks. The nest was 

 one of two leatherback nests laid in North 

 Carolina this summer. Overwash prevented 

 eggs in the second nest in Pine Knoll Shores 

 from hatching. 



Judy Wilgus, volunteer with the 

 Emerald Isle Sea Turtle Protection Program, 

 was walking the beach on an early August 

 morning when she saw the first leatherback 

 hatchlings emerging from the nest. Sea 

 turtles normally emerge at night, when the 

 sand is cooler, but these turtles waited until 

 just after sun- 

 rise. With the 

 sun in the east, 

 some turtles 

 headed away 

 from the water 

 rather than 

 toward it. 



Volunteers 

 dug shallow 

 trenches from 

 the nest to 



the water to help guide the turtles in the 

 nght direction. Volunteers also shaded the 

 trench with beach umbrellas to keep the 

 hatchlings cool. 



In all, 36 hatchlings were recorded 

 from the 97 eggs. 



Leatherbacks are the world's 

 largest sea turtle, and the hatchlings were 

 noticeably different than loggerhead 

 hatchlings commonly seen in North 

 Carolina. Pam Minnick, coordinator of the 

 Emerald Isle Sea Turtle Protection Program, 

 estimates that the body of a leatherback 

 hatchling is about a quarter-inch longer and 

 wider than a loggerhead. And its flippers are 

 about 50 percent longer. — E.S. 



ABOVE: Leatherback turtle hatchling head 

 toward the sea. 



COASTAL 



TIDINGS 



Fisheries Fellow Studies Red Drum 



Sur 



jmmer M. Burdick has 

 come onboard as the 2005-2006 

 Marine Fisheries Fellow for 

 North Carolina Sea Grant and 

 the N.C. Division of Marine 

 Fisheries (DMF). 



As the new fellow, Burdick 

 will assist DMF in the red drum 

 tagging and monitoring program. 

 Red drum is the state's designated saltwater fish. 



Results and recommendations from this 

 research will help DMF better understand the 

 movements, survival and abundance of adult red 



Summer Burdick 



drum in North Carolina, and to 

 assess the effectiveness of recent 

 management measures. 



Burdick received her 

 bachelor's degree from Evergreen 

 State College in Olympia, Wash., 

 and a master's from North 

 Carolina State University in 

 Fisheries and Wildlife Science. 

 For more information about the 2006-07 

 Marine Fisheries Fellowship, visit the Sea 

 Grant Web site: www.ncseagrant.org or contact 

 JeffBuckel at 252/222-6341. -A.G. 



NOAA Offers New 

 'Encyclopedia of the Sanctuaries' 



Ha 



lave you ever 

 wanted to learn more about 

 sharks, anemones, spiny 

 lobsters or killer whales but 

 couldn't find one place 

 with all the information? 

 NOAA recently unveiled a 

 free online resource that 

 includes information about 

 marine life from the nation's 

 oceans and Great Lakes. 

 The new Web site includes video clips of 

 species in their habitats, along with photos and 

 important facts about each marine species that 

 inhabits National Marine Sanctuaries. Facts 

 about diet, habitat, distribution and status are 



listed with each species. Users may search the 

 site for a species or look at all the wildlife from a 

 particular sanctuary. 



The online encyclopedia was developed by 

 NOAA, in partnership with the National Marine 

 Sanctuary Foundation and The Ocean Channel, 

 Inc. The National Marine Sanctuary Foundation 

 supports 13 national marine sanctuaries and 

 one coral reef ecosystem. 



The Web site also offers schedules for 

 upcoming events in all of the national marine 

 sanctuaries, as well as information about 

 management, educational programs and 

 conservation efforts for each sanctuary. 



To check out this site, visit the Web: 

 www. sanctuaries, nos. noaa.gov. - J . H . 



Site Tracks Sea Turtles 



Sea turtle nesting season may be over, but you can continue to follow turtles that visited 

 North Carolina this summer. 



To learn more about the biology and movements of sea turtles, North Carolina Aquariums 

 researchers attached satellite transmitters to 14 cold-stunned juvenile loggerhead sea turtles to 

 follow their movements after rehabilitation and release from the aquarium facilities. 



Loggerhead sea turtles are the most common sea turtle seen in North Carolina. Sea turtles are 

 reptiles and must stay in warm water to maintain their body temperature. Turtles who do not move 

 into warm water often suffer from cold-stunning, which can cause the turtle to become sick or die. 



The aquarium Web site provides information on loggerheads, a description of the aquarium 

 project, photo gallery, maps tracking the turtles' movements and classroom activities for teachers. 



Track the turtles at www.ncaquariums.com/turtletrails. - E.S. 



4 HOLIDAY 2005 



