The Tagging of Masha Kai by Turtle Trax

On August 21, George Balazs, Head of Marine Turtle Research for the NOAA-National Marine Fisheries Service Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, assisted by Marc Rice of Hawaii Preparatory Academy and us, used a tangle net to bring ashore two of the numerous honu feeding right next to shore at the Nohonani, the condo in Honokowai, West Maui where we stay. One was a young male whose tail was just starting to lengthen, the other was a nesting-sized female. George weighed, measured, and gave both honu PIT tags, but the purpose of the exercise was to attach a satellite transmitter. The female was the obvious choice because she is a potential nester. If we're lucky she'll nest next season and we'll be able to track her migration.

The video shows some of the details of the attachment process, accompanied by some excellent commentary by George as he answers questions posed by curious (and delighted) onlookers.

Category:

Pets & Animals

Tags:

• hawaii
• green turtle
• honu
• turtle
• honokowai
• maui
• nohonani
• satellite tag
• tracking