SEA 



SCIENCE 



In his AAAS presentation, Read cited 

 the FRG turtle study as one of three examples 

 that emphasize the need for cooperative efforts 

 in gathering and presenting marine life data, 

 so that global perspectives on marine animal 

 movements are available to many audiences. 



"The more that everybody has access to 

 information, the better decisions can be made on 

 all levels," Read says. 



Tracking Turtles 



The FRG project has tracked 45 turtles 

 — making it one of the largest single satellite 

 tagging efforts for turtles anywhere in the world. 

 The focus was to learn more about movements 

 within Pamlico Sound and after the turtles leave 

 the sound. 



"Once they came into the sounds, we didn't 

 think that they would go back out to sea," Read 

 explains. 



He and Duke doctoral student Catherine 

 McClellan had expected that when the North 

 Carolina sound waters turned cold in the winter, 

 the turtles would travel through coastal waters 

 south to Florida. Some individual turtles did head 

 to Florida, but yet a third group stayed in North 

 Carolina coastal waters. 



With the tracking data in hand, the 

 researchers are focusing on the Pamlico Sound 

 turtle/fishing interactions by overlaying two years 

 of the turtle movements with flounder fishing 

 efforts. They will add other data, such as water 

 surface temperatures. "This is critical information 

 to put into the management process," Read says. 



Started in 1995, the FRG program supports 

 research teams that combine expertise and skills 

 from both the fishing and academic communities, 

 explains Ronald G. Hodson, North Carolina Sea 

 Grant director. 



Read agrees that the grant program not only 

 provides crucial funding, but also initiates new 

 partnerships. "We have had some extraordinary 

 relationships with fishermen, and we build 

 on that." 



Fisherman Bill Foster of Hatteras and 

 Read proposed the tagging effort after the entire 

 Pamlico Sound was closed to large-mesh gill nets 

 from September to December each year because 

 too many sea turtles were stranded. "Fishermen 

 have nothing against the turtles," Foster explains. 



Pound nets are allowed in the sound 



because turtles that may become trapped would 

 still be able to reach the surface to breathe. 

 Thus McClellan worked with pound netters, 

 including Michael Peele of Hatteras, to attach the 

 transmitters to otherwise healthy turtles who had 

 gotten caught in pound nets. 



Peele sees his effort as not only personally 

 rewarding, but also providing scientifically sound 

 research that can help the fishing community. "It 

 keeps us fishing," he says. 



"I know the government has a priority on 

 these turtles. If we want to fish, we have to learn 

 how to stay away from them — and to release 

 them alive." 



When completed, the project's final report 

 will be of great interest to the N.C. Division of 

 Marine Fisheries (DMF) and the N.C. Marine 

 Fisheries Commission. "It will help us refine 

 our winter large-mesh and small-mesh flounder 

 gill net fishery management," says David L. 

 Taylor, a DMF representative on the FRG grants 

 committee. 



For example, the conclusions may define 

 areas with little or no interactions, which could 

 be considered to be opened to gill nets, Taylor 

 explains. Or the study may identify specific trends 



— such as temperatures and weather patterns 



— that would signal the likelihood of interactions 

 within a given season. 



Whatever the results show, Taylor expects 

 them to be accepted by many stakeholders. 



TOP TO BOTTOM: 

 Satellite transmit- 

 ters help Fishery 

 Resource Grant 

 researchers track 

 the movement of 

 loggerhead turtles. 



• Forty-five turtles 

 were released back 

 into the Pamlico 



Sound — and some headed out on grand adventures. 



• Catherine McClellan takes measurements and notes 

 ideniifyingfeatures of turtles tagged in Pamlico Sound. 



"When the fisherman is paired with the academic, 

 we have had some good products that are useful 

 for everyday management," he says. 



"And, there is added credence when the data 

 is presented to the fishing community because 

 fishermen assisted in collecting it." 



Global Perspective 



While the FRG project's primary goal is to 

 deal with an important issue on the local and state 

 levels, it also provides data for larger studies. The 

 tracking information already is available online 

 (http://obis.ew.dulce.edu). When complete, the 

 final analysis regarding Pamlico Sound also will 

 be available online. 



The information may be used by a pound 

 net or gill net fisher who wants to follow the turtle 

 movements, and then use the trends to determine 



24 EARLY SUMMER 2004 



