Satellite Tracking of Green Sea Turtles Chelonia mydas in Korean Waters

Abstract

To investigate the distribution and migrations of sea turtles occurring in Korean waters, an adult female green sea turtle Chelonia mydas was tagged with a satellite transmitter and released at Busan in October 2009. The confirmation was made for the first time that the released green sea turtle migrated back to Korea after visiting Jeju Island and Japan for approximately 9 months. The green sea turtle spent the winter in Jeju and Japan because of low water temperatures in the East Sea and South Sea during winter months, which were not suitable for turtle survival. Compared with an immature green sea turtle that was released at Jeju Island, the adult green showed a markedly different migration pattern, suggesting that juvenile and adult greens move differently because of their peculiar life cycle and their stage of maturity, in addition to responses to temperature changes. Additional satellite tracking with increased representation of species, sexes and sizes of turtles, and regions is required to gather information on the distribution and movements of sea turtles in Korean waters.

Movement Patterns of Juvenile Loggerhead Turtles (Caretta caretta L. 1758) and Green Turtles (Chelonia mydas L. 1758) Hatched in Captivity and Released in the Korean Waters

“…Five sea turtle species have been reported from the coasts of the Republic of Korea, including the loggerhead ( Caretta caretta ; Linnaeus, 1758), green ( Chelonia mydas ; Linnaeus, 1758), hawksbill ( Eretmochelys imbricata ; Linnaeus, 1766), olive ridley ( Lepidochelys olivacea ; Eschscholtz, 1829), and leatherback ( Dermochelys coriacea ; Vandelli, 1761) turtles [ 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 ]. The observation frequency of sea turtles is increasing near the Korean Peninsula [ 13 , 16 ], with up to 30 observations reported in one year, of which loggerhead and green turtles were the most frequently observed [ 11 , 12 , 16 ]. In particular, approximately 10 cases of loggerhead turtle nesting have been reported previously, with one successful hatching case on Jeju Island [ 5 , 11 , 12 , 16 , 17 ].…”

“…The observation frequency of sea turtles is increasing near the Korean Peninsula [ 13 , 16 ], with up to 30 observations reported in one year, of which loggerhead and green turtles were the most frequently observed [ 11 , 12 , 16 ]. In particular, approximately 10 cases of loggerhead turtle nesting have been reported previously, with one successful hatching case on Jeju Island [ 5 , 11 , 12 , 16 , 17 ]. However, there are still few individual records and limited research on the conservation of sea turtles near the Korean Peninsula.…”