MIGRATING MARINE TURTLES TRACKED BY SATELLITE

ECOLOGIST group Oceana has set up a programme for satellite tracking a dozen or so marine turtles in their migration along the Spanish coastline.
The project will enable scientists to track the daily movements of the animals, which have been captured over the past few months in the Mediterranean and in the Atlantic off the Canary Islands. Oceana said in a statement yesterday that the turtles have been fitted with an identification microchip and satellite transmitter which will facilitate the tracking of their seagoing migratory habits and behaviour, as well as any other data which could prove essential to establishing a protection policy for the species. Each time the turtles come to the surface of the water to breathe, the satellite transmitter will send a signal to Oceana's head offices. Most of the turtles have originated in the egg-laying beaches of the United States and the Caribbean, although a few will have started life in areas of the eastern Mediterranean, such as Greece, Cyprus and Turkey. After birth, many marine turtles set off on a long migratory journey across the Atlantic which takes them to the waters of the eastern Mediterranean. They return to the egg-laying beaches along the currents of the Gulf stream. The round trip covers more than 10'000 miles.