Sea Turtle Tag and Release Program

Sea Turtles have been part of our Chesapeake Bay Aquarium Habitat over the years.  Often, we acquire juveniles from Area nests (in southern North Carolina) and then raise them for a time in captivity to then be tagged and released as part of the Head-Start Program.

History of the VLM Sea Turtle

The Virginia Living Museum picked up the turtle from North Carolina in October 2008. It was on loan to the museum as part of the Head-Start Program that North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores and many other aquariums take part in.  That sea turtle was 5 lbs when we received it and 70 lbs when it was returned in October 2010.

Sea Turtle Tagging

A tag  was affixed and on the top of the sea turtles shell. To track the progress, go to  seaturtle.org which will have live data . The sea turtles name for reference only is "Virginia". The website is public and shows tracking data from turtles released all over the world. We are able to secure the public data from the tag. The cost of the technology is several thousands of dollars.

Release into the Wild
Initially the weather prevented the team from releasing the sea turtle as they ventured out to the Gulf Stream. Pictured to the right is the release of the VLM turtle.  It is the turtle pictured in the background.

 
You can follow the sea turtle journey on this web site: seaturtle.org