IMIS - Marine Research Groups

Endangered North Pacific loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) are distributed widely throughout the North Pacific Ocean. Scientists have known that juvenile loggerhead turtles originating from Japanese nesting beaches cross the Pacific Ocean to access the productive waters off the Pacific Coast of North America, although the movements of these loggerhead turtles in U.S. waters of southern California are poorly understood. This project's goal is to track the movements of juvenile loggerheads in this portion of the California Current Large Marine Ecosystem. Understanding their movement patterns, and how they relate to oceanographic conditions in the region will provide significant information for management efforts aimed at reducing human impacts to loggerheads in this area. more