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Fifth Loggerhead Satellite Tagged this Season
On July 18, the SCCF sea turtle team deployed their fifth and final satellite tag for the 2025 nesting season on a loggerhead turtle named “Belle.” The other satellite tagged turtles this season include MumSea, Harper, Queen Tutt, and Emory.
This year was the first time the SCCF team has encountered Belle, though she had been previously tagged by Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium in 2012.
View the SCCF Sea Turtle Tracking Portal >>
“Our tracking portal provides an opportunity for the public to view the tracks of our tagged turtles, offering incredible insight into the behavior of loggerheads that nest on our beaches,” said SCCF Coastal Wildlife Director and Sea Turtle Program Coordinator Kelly Sloan. “Our turtles have exhibited diverse movement patterns already.”
MumSea tends to stay in the waters of Southwest Florida and has been observed nesting twice on Sanibel, while Queen Tutt traveled north all the way to the panhandle before nesting again on Anna Maria Island and heading south. Harper and Emory both swam south after nesting, and Harper appears to be settled in her foraging grounds between Cuba and the Bahamas. Belle, the most recently tagged turtle, has also been heading south, and has spent about a week off the coast of Marco Island.
Behind the scenes, our biologists are also able to view dive data from these turtles.
“Data on dive depth and duration provide a wealth of information that helps us understand foraging behavior, including foraging hotspots, foraging strategies, and even energy expenditure,” Sloan said. “We can also analyze how environmental factors, such as water temperatures, affect dive patterns and foraging behavior. All of these insights can help guide conservation strategies.”
You view the paths of Belle, Emory, Harper, MumSea, and Queen Tutt at the SCCF Sea Turtle Tracking Portal, generously created by Hammerhead Technology.
Thank you to all of our donors who helped us support the cost of the satellite tags — John Dubuque, Weezie and Tim Huyck, Linda and Nick Linsmayer, John and Kathy McCabe, and Frances and Simon Tutt.