World Sea Turtle Day: Satellite Tags Reveal Migration Patterns of Endangered Hawksbill Sea Turtles, Show Alarming Results

In April, environment group Nature Conservancy launched the first hawksbill sea turtle satellite tagging program at the Arnavon Community Marine Conservation Area in Solomon Islands, the largest and first community-managed marine protected area in the country.

Along with local conservation officers, satellite tags were placed on 10 hawksbill turtles at the start of their peak nesting season in order to unravel their nesting habitats and migration patterns. The Conservancy used the Argos/GPS Fastloc satellite tracks, the latest in tracking technologies.

As the World Sea Turtle Day is celebrated today, June 16, this effort aims to further protect and conserve turtles. Like other sea turtle species, hawksbills are considered critically endangered, with worldwide populations declining about 80 percent in the past three turtle generations.