began honing their marine proficiency while children and learned traditional family fishing practices from their fathers and grandfathers. These traditions cannot be valued enough, especially for research in Belize, where until the early 1980s, sea turtles were actively hunted.
Every time I have stumbled upon a sea turtle, I’ve realized that Pixar’s surfer dude interpretation is not all that far removed from reality. If quietly observed from a respectable distance, sea turtles in Belize will often go about their business, gracefully and peacefully. Unfortunately, these neat marine encounters are under considerable threat. Most readers will know the plight of sea turtle populations around the world. Although all sea turtle species are legally protected in Belize, the typical challenges plague them: net entanglement, reduced access to safe nesting sites, pollution, climate change, and poaching. Because of all of these pressures, researchers must closely monitor sea turtle populations. And since Turneffe is a newly protected atoll, this is a critical time for scientists to establish baseline studies. Policymakers rely on results of baseline studies in order to understand a species’ population structure, habitat use, site fidelity, and ultimately, vulnerability to extinction. We need to know whether or not current protective measures are in fact enough.
A few minutes later, I finally caught up with that speedy set of distant yellow fins. Alex and Darren, two members of the fisher team, were looking to the fringing reef below, planning. About 60ft beneath us, a small turtle with a mottled carapace slowly careened along a row of swaying purple sea fans. Wordless and synchronized, Alex and Darren worked as a team as they dove beneath me. Alex swam in front of the turtle, maintaining enough distance to avoid spooking it but getting close enough to capture its gaze. Once the turtle was sufficiently distracted, Darren approached it from behind. Suddenly and seamlessly, he swooped in and grabbed the unsuspecting reptile, supporting it from both the head and tail ends of its carapace. After a few flaps of its flippers and a desperate twist or two, it settled. Alex, Darren and turtle slowly and calmly rose to the surface. I looked on as the sharp beak of a rather aloof hawksbill turtle came into view of my GoPro on a stick. It looked directly at me, utterly resigned. Once the trio surfaced, Darren waited for the panga of researchers. He gently lifted the turtle over the gunwale and into the hands of the two eager scientists. Blow and Chevis identified the turtle as male (indicated by his long tail), tagged his flipper, measured his carapace, and collected samples. All of this information is cataloged in MarAlliance’s database, which documents turtle activity in Turneffe Atoll and other sites like it. The whole turtle meet scientist experience lasted only a few minutes.
46 - SEVENSEAS