Caribbean Compass Yachting Magazine - January 2018

Tagging Turtles in the BVI:
VOLUNTEERS WELCOME
by Janie Trenary
JANUARY 2018 CARIBBEAN COMPASS PAGE 30
Above: Ben of Sunchaser Scuba wrangling a turtle Below left: The author and Dr. Shannon Gore Below right: A turtle being tagged and vaccinated before release
For the last half century, I have enjoyed the life-affirming privilege of indulging my
passion for SCUBA diving in spectacular locales around the world. I thought I had
seen the full underwater kaleidoscope of awesome and exotic marine life including
rays, sharks, seahorses, and whales. I didn’t think it was possible to be rendered
breathless by a simple encounter with wild sea turtles. I was wrong. The amazing
Green and Hawksbill turtles of the Virgin Islands are a true wonder of nature, and
they are now on my A List of swimming accessories for anyone with a mask, regulator
and PADI card. Adding a piece of jewelry in the way of an identity tag to these
mysterious animals was a great way for a few volunteers to help our island world
better understand its ocean treasures. With the life-changing events of Hurricanes
Irma and Maria, these base-line, “before and after” assessments will help us ensure
our development of a comprehensive international recovery plan to assess the problems
and move quickly to protect these creatures and the marine world they need to
thrive in.
Where I live, in Telluride, Colorado, when not sailing our sailboat Homefree in the
British Virgins, we have a favorite locals’ saying. When asked about our ability to
tackle an adventure-laden challenge offered up by new friends, we start bragging
with a chuckle that “this isn’t my first rodeo.” The remarkable day we spent corralling
and wrangling wayward turtles quickly proved that a rodeo, with all its explosive
trimmings, was exactly what the turtle roundup soon became. Shannon and her
team took the volunteer “newbies” through “what if?” scenarios of all the roping,
bulldogging and trussing you would expect in a Rocky Mountain Stampede. It was a
day loaded with hard work, tons of fun, sun, laughter and the start of a long-term
bonding relationship for both volunteers and “our” turtles.
The Green, Hawksbill, Leatherback and occasional Loggerhead turtles of the
Caribbean share a life’s journey that is nothing short of magical. Billions of people
around the world have seen on television the madcap beach scramble by tens of
thousands of teacup-sized baby turtles scurrying from their nests and flippering
I was part of a “before” tagging event when my friends and dive professionals
Ben Williams and Kay Van Leuven at Sunchaser Scuba, located in North Sound,
BVI, arranged an excursion with Dr. Shannon Gore of the Association of Reef
Keepers (ARK). Dr. Gore is the managing director for the local non-profit and
works closely with the government’s Conservation & Fisheries Department to continue
ongoing research in the BVI designed to ensure the long-term health of all
the marine turtle species living in the Caribbean. She has spent the last 20 years
dealing with the ever-changing marine environments in the islands and researching
just how these changes affect the health, lifestyle and future wellbeing of our
reefs and the sealife they support. Her books and publications on the challenges
and scientific paths to successfully protect and nurture our shorelines are internationally
viewed as the “very best practices” for marine conservation projects and
the restoration of vital coastal habitat. Dr. Shannon Gore’s work is both critically
important and timely.
their way to the relative safety of the ocean waves, while dodging predators from the
air, land, and water on an instinctive drive to get as far away as possible from the
dangers of the place where they had been born. Researchers have estimated it may
well be a hundred-mile non-stop dash for these little swimmers. And then, the mystery
happens: they disappear.
Like all things truly magical, the truth about where the baby turtles go during
these “lost years” is part of the ocean’s best-kept secrets. Then, in dribs and drabs,
often after a full decade of being adolescent, marine turtles begin to return to the
traditional favorite feeding sites of their specific species. Some Hawksbill turtles from
the BVI often travel all the way across the Atlantic to the west coast of Africa to feed
on crabs, jellyfish, and shrimp. These animals can eat their own weight in a single
day as they build fat and strength for the next arduous stage of their life cycle. Adult
turtles in their breeding prime can weigh up to 400 pounds.
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