【Survey Details】

We conduct night patrols at Omura Beach every year during the breeding season, mainly for the purpose of labeling mother turtles and responding to tourists who come to see the turtles. By attaching labels to sea turtles and then releasing them into the sea, we can learn about their migration routes, migratory ranges, and feeding areas in the event that they are recaptured. During the survey, individual turtle information is recorded including the measurement of their shells and checking their external characteristics. If nesting is observed, we will measure the nests and provide explanations for tourists.


⇒What sort of information did the center staff find？

By continuing the capture and release survey, we learned that mother turtles in Ogasawara lay eggs four to five times in a season, about two weeks apart, and that they come to Ogasawara to lay eggs about every three to four years. The turtles that were confirmed to have come ashore at Hatsuneyura Beach were recaptured two weeks later off the coast of Miyazaki Prefecture, which is a foraging area, indicating that they swim an average distance of 80 kilometers per day.