SC Nest Counter

Waties Island Sea Turtle Monitors

Waties Island is a 2.7 mile private undeveloped barrier island at the border of North and South Carolina. Under a permit from SC Department of Natural Resources to help protect the sea turtle, we are at it again this season! The site will be updated often, so please feel free to bookmark us and visit us again to see what's new!

Waties Island Nest Counter

Saturday, July 31, 2010

Day 60 for Nest #1

Today marked Day 60 for Nest #1 and the volunteers this morning, Valerie, Gail, Bobbie, Kathy and Linda, noticed a slight depression over the egg chamber and a ghost crab hole close to the reed marking the center of the nest.






















They actually saw the crab enter the hole, so we decided it was time to utilize the "Fripp Island Ghost Crab Trap" again.




















As we were removing the cage, at the upper right corner about 9 inches below the surface of the sand, 4 hatchlings fell through the wall of the cage!





Were they caught in the ghost crab tunnel? No way to know for sure, but now that they were out, we needed to release them as soon as possible.




















All four turtles made it to the ocean and are on their way.
Maybe tonight will bring the major emergence we've been waiting for! We'll let you know,

















Barb and Steve
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1 comment:

  1. UnknownNovember 4, 2010 at 4:16 PM

    Hi,

    My name is Cameron Jaggard and I work for the Pew Environment Group. I am circulating a sign-on letter in support of a prohibition on the use of surface longline fishing gear in the Gulf of Mexico. As part of this effort, the Pew Environment Group is also working to develop economic incentives to transition these fishermen to more selective gear types. Gulf surface longlines average 30 miles in length and carry hundreds of baited hooks. This indiscriminate gear is left unattended between 10-12 hours, during which time it captures and kills non-target marine life, such as leatherback and loggerhead sea turtles, blue marlin and severely depleted Western Atlantic bluefin tuna. More than half of the catch is thrown back - most of it dead. These animals die unnecessarily, as alternative fishing methods that would reduce this bycatch already exist.

    Please contact Cameron Jaggard at cjaggard@pewtrusts.org to discuss joining this sign-on letter.

    Thank you!

    ReplyDelete

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