Tagging Hawksbill Turtles in WPB (pics)

[Zen Diving Inc.]

I'm not sure where your found the 4-7 hours submerged time, it may be applicable for some species of sea turtles, but I don't believe the Hawksbill can stay under water for anywhere near that length of time, especially while under duress.

I believe it was Sea World Orlando that published data stating that the Hawksbill can remain underwater less than an hour.

BTW, I strongly encourage the tagging program. I hope some valid science is obtained from it.

I did provide the the link in my original response, however I should have included the text since there are some variances in the time...

"A resting/sleeping turtle can remain underwater for over 4-7 hours. Recent research has shown that some turtles can even hibernate in the sea for several months! However, a stressed turtle, for instance entangled in fishing gear, quickly uses up oxygen stored within its body and may drown within minutes through panic.

I assumed that, anyone doing this for research would do their best to coax the turtle and not drag or ride him to the surface. They obviously didn't drown so, its all good.

 

[jet126]

This is the second time I have participated with Larry Wood on his hawksbill project. I did it with Force E back in January and this time with Pura Vida. The format is basically the same: a class in the morning where we learned about the project as well as turtles in general. For anyone who has jumped into the conversation without looking at his website, Larry Wood is researching the relationship hawksbill turtles have with our reefs: specifically their eating habits. The data he is collecting will go a long ways towards the conservation of both - a very good thing, imho.

Afterwards we went for two dives, looking for untagged hawksbills. We have been lucky enough to find one on every dive. Larry has all the appropriate permits to do this and we divers are given hands-on experience in the measuring, photographing and tagging. Throughout the whole process the "don't try this at home" mantra is repeated over and over. In fact, appropriate turtle etiquette is addressed all day long.

It is an excellent opportunity to learn about the turtles we see while diving, how important they are and what we can do to protect them. I highly recommend the class.