Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring tagged a loggerhead sea turtle with a satellite-tracking device and sent her back to the waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
The nesting sea turtle, named Amie for AMITW’s partner, Anna Maria Elementary School, was captured temporarily by Sea Turtle Conservancy and AMITW as a part of a special project called Tour de Turtles.
Representatives from the conservancy travel the Western Hemisphere to tag sea turtles in order to track migration patterns. This marks the eighth year of a program that conservancy representative Lexie Beach says is growing every year. After stops this year in Costa Rica, Panama and now Anna Maria Island, Beach says the group has tagged 18 turtles.
Amie was spotted laying a nest on Coquina Beach near lifeguard station No. 1 at about 4 a.m. June 23 by AMITW volunteer Dave Ault just before the search for a nesting turtle was about to be abandoned due to bad weather.
AMITW volunteers and members of the conservancy team raced to the beach where Amie’s nest was marked. Volunteers then placed a wooden box in the sand that the turtle easily crawled into. The turtle, estimated to be 20-25 years old, received a comfort massage from conservancy volunteer Noah Evans, who gently scrubbed algae, leeches and barnacles off her back.
“Her back was so full of stuff,” AMITW executive director Suzi Fox said.
After getting cleaned up, a small satellite-tracking device was attached with resin epoxy to the top of Amie’s shell. According to Dan Evans of the conservancy, the device will create little drag while attached to the turtle and is designed to fall off after 18 months or so. When above water, the device transmits every 45 seconds, only stopping when the antennae is damaged or the device falls off. Amie’s progress can be viewed online whenever the device is functioning.
After the tag was applied, Amie was held in the box under a tent for about four hours to allow the epoxy to dry. Dan Evans, who has tagged more than 150 sea turtles throughout his career, said the turtle remained calm.
He said it’s likely that Amie may return to Anna Maria Island later in the nesting season to lay another nest. Females can release several clutches of eggs in one nesting season.
Amie was released at about 8 a.m. to make her way back into the Gulf of Mexico as a growing number — about 50 onlookers — watched her trek across the sand.
AMITW was chosen by the conservancy for the turtle-tagging project. Funds for the project, including the crew, tagging equipment and satellite time, came from an Anna Maria Island Chamber of Commerce trolley grant to AMITW.
“These things are pricey,” Fox said of the nearly $5,000 price tag. “You want them put on by the proper person.”
Fox invited the out-of-town participants in the project to her home, a visit that could have taken up to three days due to the inconsistencies of sea turtle nesting.
That prompted a call-out to Larry Chatt of Island Real Estate, an AMITW sponsor, who arranged a donation for a five-night accommodation for the group.
“One cool thing about this island is they take care of their own,” Fox said.
Amie’s progress can be viewed at www.tourdeturtles.org.