Suzi the loggerhead went swimming from the shore in Bradenton Beach June 27 sporting an accessory — a lapis blue tag that tracks the sea turtle’s travels.
Suzi made the trek from the beach to the Gulf of Mexico to the cheers and applause of a crowd of camera-clicking onlookers.
The loggerhead name was fitting — she’s named for Suzi Fox, who died Sept. 30, 2022. Fox dedicated her life to aiding sea turtles and preserving their habitat.
The nonprofit Sea Turtle Conservancy, partnering with Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring, Waterline Villas and Marina and Coastal Wildlife Club, tagged Suzi after the turtle nested overnight June 26-27.
The public can follow Suzi’s path in STC’s Tour de Turtles — which officially begins Aug. 1 — at conserveturtles.org.
In the first three days after the tagging, Suzi swam about 16 miles — northwest, then southwest, then northeast.
The Islander asked AMITW executive director Kristen Mazzarella about the interest in Suzi and the value of tracking sea turtles.
The Islander: There was a good-sized crowd June 27 to see the release of AMI’s entry in Tour de Turtles. When the “race” begins, what would you, as a scientist, like to find out?
Kristen Mazzarella: Yes, Suzi’s release had an excellent turnout and we are excited to see where she goes.
There are so many things we can learn from her journey!
- If she nests again on Anna Maria Island;
- Where she spends her time between laying nests this season;
- The route she takes to get to her foraging grounds, where she will live and feed until she returns to nest again;
- Where she lives … and how long she stays there before returning to nest.
The Islander: As director of AMITW, what other information from Suzi’s travels might be useful?
KM: Sea turtles may nest on the beach. However, they spend the majority of their lives in the ocean.
AMITW does our best to protect sea turtles when they are on land but we also want to do our part to protect their ocean habitat. Identifying areas in the ocean that are important to sea turtles is the first step to conserving sea turtles in the water.
In addition, this race is an educational opportunity. Each of these turtles are racing for a cause — to bring attention to the threats to sea turtles and how humans can help reduce them.
Suzi’s cause is light pollution! This was one of Suzi Fox’s biggest causes.
By educating the public and working with beachfront properties and local code enforcement for so many years, Suzi made AMI a more turtle-friendly beach habitat by reducing light pollution on the island.
Less light pollution means more hatchlings make it successfully and directly to the water, which in turn means helping to ensure that more generations of sea turtles will continue to nest on AMI.
The Islander: A “turtle race” makes me think about the story of the turtle and the hare. I know we’re talking about a different kind of turtle. But just how fast are loggerheads?
KM: Loggerheads are known to swim relatively slow — 1-5 mph — but can swim faster — up to 22 mph — when in danger.
The Islander: We just heard about hatchlings emerging from the earliest nest of the season!
KM: Yes, it’s so exciting to see the fruits of our labor in those tiny hatchling tracks heading to the water.
We encourage the public to do what they can to reduce artificial light visible from the nesting beach: Close your blinds, use turtle-friendly lighting, shield or turn off your lights and do not use lights on the beach.
For more information about AMITW, call the nonprofit at 941-301-8434, email info@islandturtlewatch.com or go online to islandturtlewatch.com.