Sea Turtle Conservation Bonaire

Although we received only one usable location for 'Schillie' today, it indicates she remains near Mona and Monito Islands. 'Schillie' is probably taking advantage of the abundant food (sponges) growing on the seafloor in the area, which means she is spending lots of time underwater so that we can receive only a few signals from her transmitter. Fortunately, the waters around Mona are now relatively safe for turtles.

UPDATED JAN 04

Our hawksbill 'Schillie' has reached Monito, a small limestone island which lies about 6 km north of Mona Island. This is a first class hawksbill feeding area, with very abundant high quality food (mostly their favorite sponge, Geodia neptuni), and the island probably has the highest density of hawksbill turtles anywhere in the world. This will be the first opportunity for 'Schillie' to feed after leaving Bonaire. My colleague Carlos Diez and I have been studying and protecting turtles at Mona and Monito for over 15 years, so if 'Schillie' stays in the area we may be able to find her in the water when we return to Mona next summer.

UPDATED JAN 03

'Schillie' is now just off the west coast of Mona and Monito Islands, in the Mona Passage. We will see tomorrow if she stays in this most excellent home for hawksbills or decides to continue on towards the north.

It continues to look like our hawksbill 'Schillie' is heading directly for Isla Mona, or at least aiming for the Mona Passage. She swam about 50 km yesterday and could reach Mona by today. This island, and its smaller satellite island Monito, has abundant hawksbill food (sponges) and a good number of resident turtles. We will see whether she stops there or continues onward.

UPDATED JAN 01

Moving into 2004, 'Schillie' is on track towards Isla Mona in the Mona Passage. Mona is a protected Natural Reserve and one of the world's most important hawksbill breeding habitats.

UPDATED DEC 31

'Schillie' swam about 50 km towards the east yesterday, perhaps to get a better aim at reaching the Mona Passage or Puerto Rico. After this course correction, we expect her to continue to swim towards the north, much like 'Nautila' did last month. I will keep you posted.

With best wishes for 2004

UPDATED DEC 30

Surprisingly, 'Schillie' just did a "U"-turn, swimming south-southeast for some distance and now further away from the coast of the Dominican Republic. Migrating turtles sometimes do this as a way of finding their direction. All predictions about her possible destination are off, we will have to wait and see where she goes next.

'Nautila' continues on the "Navidad Bank", her feeding ground 100 km north of the Dominican Republic.

UPDATED DEC 29

Our hawksbill 'Schillie' has slowed down considerably in the last 24 hours, as she made a course adjustment turning towards the northeast. At some 100 km from the coast of the Dominican Republic, 'Schillie' is still in deep waters and now appears to be moving towards Isla Saona, part of the Parque Nacional del Este, adjacent to the Mona Passage.

UPDATED DEC 28

Hawksbill 'Schillie' is now slowing down a bit as she approaches the Dominican Republic, swimming only about 50 km within the last 24 hours. She is still on track to reach the coast near the capital, Santo Domingo, sometime early next week.

UPDATED DEC 27

'Schillie' is going strong and fast approaching Santo Domingo, now nearly 600 km from Bonaire.

UPDATED DEC 26

'Good satellite signals keep coming in from both 'Schillie' and 'Nautila'. Hawksbill 'Schillie' keeps on moving, but it appears she has just started swinging more towards the east and is now on course towards the capital of the Dominican Republic, Santo Domingo. She again swam some 60 km yesterday, now over 500 km from Bonaire. In the meantime, 'Nautila' continues transmitting from her feeding grounds at Navidad Bank.

UPDATED DEC 25

'Schillie' keeps on moving to the north-northwest, straight towards the Dominican Republic. Yesterday she swam some 60 km, and is now located over 450 km from Bonaire.

Bon Pasku!

UPDATED DEC 24

Hawksbill 'Schillie' continues on her very constant way towards the north-northwest, swimming about 70 km yesterday. She is now 400 km away from Bonaire and just now diverged from the track made by 'Nautila' in November. 'Schillie' appears to be heading towards the triangular piece of land that is the "Parque Nacional Jaragua" in the Dominican Republic.

'Nautila' remains on Navidad Bank, hopefully recovering from fasting for several months while breeding here at Klein Bonaire and her long migration back to her feeding habitat.

UPDATED DEC 23

'Schillie' continues on her way towards the north-northwest, now almost 350 km from Bonaire and halfway towards the coast of the Dominican Republic. 'Schillie' has slowed down a little, now swimming about 60 km/day and appears to know where she's going as her track is a very straight line so far.

UPDATED DEC 22

'Schillie', swimming north at about 80 km/day, is now already some 250 km away from Bonaire. The track she is following is remarkably similar to that of 'Nautila', as you can see on the attached overview map. 'Nautila' in the meantime remains on "Navidad Bank", north of the Dominican Republic.

UPDATED DEC 21

'Schillie' continues on her way towards the north. She is now nearly 200 km from Klein Bonaire, where she last nested on 15 December. Her route is nearly identical to that made earlier by 'Nautila', the first female hawksbill we tracked.

UPDATED DEC 20

'Schillie' continues on the move towards the north, now 150 km away and following a near identical track as 'Nautila' did several weeks ago. 'Schillie' is now in deep water and has picked up speed, swimming nearly 100 km yesterday. At her current pace, 'Schillie' could reach the Dominican Republic on Christmas day

UPDATED DEC 19

Our second transmittered hawksbill, 'Schillie', is now definitely on the move! Yesterday she was already well north of Bonaire and swimming about 80 km/day. Her track is very similar to the route that 'Nautila' took when leaving Bonaire, in the direction of the Dominican Republic.

We continue to receive signals from 'Nautila' indicating she is still on her foraging area at "Banco de Navidad", 100 km north of the Dominican Republic, where we expect her to remain for at least two years.

UPDATED DEC 18

We are now tracking our second transmittered turtle, 'Schillie', after she laid a nest on Klein Bonaire's No Name beach this Monday night. This nest was was at least her fifth for the season, and with that she should be done laying. Her locations for yesterday indicate she has started to move north, along the west coast of Bonaire, with her latest position near Playa Frans. But two weeks ago 'Schillie' made the same movement and then turned back to Klein Bonaire, so it is anyone's guess what she will be doing next.

'Nautila' remains at her foraging habitat on the "Banco de Navidad", about 100 km north of the Dominican Republic.

UPDATED DEC 16

'Nautila' has remained in the same location for several days, which means she has most likely reached her destination. She at what is known as "Navidad Bank", a submerged reef bank to the east of "Banco de la Plata", about 100 km north of the Dominican Republic. The area is also known as the breeding ground for humpback whales at this time of year and should also be good foraging habitat for hawksbills. We expect 'Nautila' to stay on Navidad for the next 2-3 years before returning to lay more nests on Klein Bonaire. From now on we will provide further updates for 'Nautila' only if her location changes significantly or any further information becomes available.

In the meantime we are expecting our second transmittered hawksbill, 'Schillie', to lay another nest on No Name beach shortly.

UPDATED DEC 12

Today we received good signals for both the hawksbills that we are tracking. Neither has moved much from their last positions, however. 'Nautila' is still about 100 km north of the Dominican Republic and east of the "Banco de la Plata".

'Schillie' remains at Klein Bonaire, with the latest location for her coming from Ebo's Reef. We expect her to lay one more nest on No Name beach early next week.

'Nautila' continues to move in northerly direction, located about 80 km east of the "Banco de la Plata". Her only choice to reach suitable habitat is to move towards the west from where she is. 'Nautila' is now 900 km from Bonaire and has traversed over 1200 km in the last six weeks.

Today we received no usable signals from 'Schillie', but it appears she remains near Klein Bonaire.

UPDATED DEC 11

'Nautila' is continuing her way northwards into the Atlantic off the Dominican Republic. The only shallow waters that she needs for feeding nearby are to the west of her present location. Where will she go next?
In the meantime, 'Schillie' remains near Klein Bonaire.

UPDATED DEC 8

We are now tracking 'Nautila' as she moves northeast 100 km off the Dominican Republic. She is now approaching open waters of the Atlantic Ocean, with the only shallows relatively on-course being the Banco de la Plata, towards the northwest of her. Her destination continues to be a mystery.

Signals from our second mystery turtle, 'Schillie', indicate that she has definitely returned to the area around Klein Bonaire, possibly because she senses she needs to lay yet another nest there. This despite our report earlier last week that she was moving north and possibly away from Bonaire. We will have to wait and learn what see what she is up to next.

'Nautila' continues to surprise us. She is now located 800 km from Bonaire along the north-east coast of the Dominican Republic. Yesterday she started to move offshore, towards the north, which means that she is now in safer and much deeper waters. But with no shallow reef areas for a very long way in the direction she is moving, her destination remains a complete mystery. The reach the "Banco de la Plata" or the first islands of the Bahamas chain, she needs to move much more towards the west. (Click for PDF-file)

The latest locations for 'Schillie' are puzzling, as they seem to indicate that she may have returned to Klein Bonaire. However, the signals indicating this are of relatively poor quality. Last week we got good locations for her towards the north end of Bonaire, suggesting she was departing the island. So for now her movement remains unclear, time will hopefully tell.

UPDATED DEC 5

Just as we are really excited about 'Schillie' leaving Bonaire, today we unfortunately did not receive usuable locations for her. In the meantime, 'Nautila' continues to move north along the east coast of the Dominican Republic.

UPDATED DEC 4

DEC 3
'Nautila' continues to confuse us, as now it appears she may have backtracked again, along the southern coast of Isla Saona, part of the , Dominican Republic's Parque Nacional del Este. Hopefully in the next few days it will become clearer where this turtle wants to go.

On Monday night we had another nesting activity on Klein Bonaire very likely attributable to our second transmittered hawksbill, 'Schillie'. One weak signal received from her yesterday indicates that she may now have left Bonaire towards the North, but we will have to wait on further transmisions for confirmation.

DEC 2
Today we received good signals for both the hawksbills we are tracking. It looks like 'Nautila' has cleared the coast of the Dominican Republic, passing by Saona Island, and now has many more movement options. She is actually only about 35 km from Mona Island, a major hawksbill breeding site, and where the 'Bonaire turtle team' (Gielmon 'Funchi' Egbreghts and myself) was visiting just last week.

In the meantime, 'Schillie' was located yesterday at Ebo's Reef at Klein Bonaire. She is due to lay another nest any day now

UPDATED DEC 1

'Nautila' keeps up her pace, moving continuously eastward very close along the coast of the Dominican Republic. She is at La Romana and fast approaching the Parque del Este, a large and important nature conservation area. It still remains totally unclear where this turtle might end up. Today I am also attaching an overview (PDF-format) of the track she has made after leaving Bonaire one month ago.

In the meantime, 'Schillie' remains with us somewhere on the reef at Klein Bonaire.

Once again we are getting good location signals from 'Nautila': she is now along the coast some 50km east of Santo Domingo, close to the town of San Pedro de Macoris. This whole area is populated and heavily fished, so we hope she makes it through. Every day the mystery deepens as to what her destination might be.

NOV 28
We just received some signals from both 'Nautila' and 'Schillie' , but unfortunately the transmissions were too weak for the satellite system to determine locations for either turtle. This is normal and happens regularly with other tracked turtles, too. Hopefully we will have better luck tomorrow.

UPDATED NOV 27

The 'turtle team' is now back on Bonaire after a succesful visit to a very wet Puerto Rico. There, at Isla Mona, we put two more transmitters on nesting hawksbills and with much luck retrieved one damaged transmitter from an adult male hawksbill.

We are still tracking 'Nautila' as she returns again to the coast of the Dominican Republic, very close to the capital Santo Domingo. This is a very populated and industrial area, so we hope she decides to move on soon.

UPDATED NOV 26

As you can see on the map above, 'Nautila' is once again approaching the coast of the Dominican Republic, now between Santo Domingo and La Romana. This is a heavily fished area, so potentially very dangerous for a big hawksbill turtle.

'Schillie' is still near Klein Bonaire.

After spending the last few days "incomunicado" visiting Mona Island (Puerto Rico) to place transmitters on nesting hawksbill turtles there, we are now finally able to resume the tracking of our Bonaire turtles.

'Nautila' has been taking her time in deep waters, deciding where to go by swimming in a very big loop and actually crossing the track she made about two weeks ago. She is now again on a course northwards, moving straight towards Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic.

'Schillie' is still located near Klein Bonaire, which must mean she has yet another nest to lay there.

UPDATED NOV 19, 2003

UPDATED NOV 18, 2003

From the strong transmitter signals received last night, 'Schillie' appears to have visited the beach of Klein Bonaire at No Name, attempting to nest. As this may be her last nesting effort of the season, we expect to see her make more significant movements in the next few days, should be very interesting.

'Nautila' continues on her voyage, still towards the south and now well away from the Dominican Republic. Her destination is now more of a mystery than ever...

We travelled from Bonaire to Puerto Rico and will attempt to cross by boat to Mona Island early tomorrow, now that the weather is better. We will be putting transmitters on two nesting hawksbill turtles there too. Although communication may become difficult, we will try to keep you posted as much as possible.
Click here for a current PDF of Nautila

UPDATED NOV 16, 2003

We are now seeing 'Nautila' pick up speed, again towards the south-west, paralleling -and well offshore- the coast of the Dominican Republic. It looks like she succesfully extracted herself from the "trap" formed by the bay around the city of Barahona. Perhaps 'Nautila' is now trying to find a safe passage around the triangular chunk of land that is the Parque Nacional Jaragua.

'Schillie' remains here on the reef at Klein Bonaire.

For a sobering perspective on the fate of other traveling marine turtles tracked by satellite, see the news item in this week's journal "Nature" at http://www.nature.com/nsu/031103/031103-17.html

UPDATED NOV 15, 2003

'Nautila' is still moving, apparently somewhat undecided where to go next, and now moving south.
'Schillie' is here at Klein Bonaire. No sign of her nesting yet.

UPDATED NOV 13, 2003

'Nautila' continues swimming very close to the coast of the Dominican Republic, now in southerly direction towards the Parque Nacional Jaragua. Because this coast is south-east facing and constantly exposed to on-shore winds, waters there are rough so threats from encountering fishermen are probably reduced. The area is potentially good hawksbill feeding habitat. 'Nautila', however, remains on the move...
'Schillie' is still with us here on the reef at Klein Bonaire.

UPDATED NOV 12, 2003

Nautila is still on the move along the coast of the Dominican Republic, now in a south-westerly direction and past the town of Barahona. It looks like she now knows where she needs to go to find her feeding habitat again. Since we can expect some larger scale movement from her again, we have zoomed out on the map showing her recent locations.Yesterday we went out to look for 'Schillie' on the reef at Klein Bonaire and were able to find her within about 5 minutes! She was resting on a tiny sand patch amongst the coral heads at about 10m/30ft depth. The turtle and transmitter appear to be in fine shape.We will keep you posted.

UPDATED NOV 11, 2003

Click here for a detailed image

UPDATED NOV 8, 2003

PDF files: Nautila Nov-6 and Nautila Nov-3 and Schillie Nov-3