Bald Head Island Conservancy
The Sea Turtle Directory
Country: United States (contiguous)
Organization / Project Name: Bald Head Island Conservancy's Sea Turtle Protection Program
Website: bhic.org
Email: seaturtle@bhic.org
Description: The Bald Head Island Conservancy’s (BHIC) Sea Turtle Protection Program (STPP) was established in 1983 in cooperation with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). Unofficially, monitoring of nesting sea turtles, their respective nests, and hatchlings began in 1980 with a group of island residents. Considered by NMFS as an “index” and “saturation tagging” beach, BHI and the Conservancy are nationally recognized for their long-term sea turtle monitoring program. As a saturation tagging beach, the Conservancy’s Sea Turtle Protection Team (STPT) monitors the beaches of BHI nightly from May to September. During nightly patrols, the STPT’s goal is to tag and identify every individual nesting turtle that comes ashore using a standardized data collection protocol. Nesting season begins with dawn patrols (0600 – 0730 EDT) on 1 May until the first nest is observed, after which full night patrols commence and continue through the middle of August. Nightly patrols for nesting mothers are conducted from 2100 - 0600 EDT and include the application of Inconel flipper tags (began in 1991), passive integrated transponder tags (PIT; began in 2002), and the collection of tissue biopsies (began in 2002) for genetic analysis and eggs for stable isotope analysis (SIA; began in 2010). These activities have produced an invaluable 35+ year dataset that allows the Conservancy’s biologists and collaborators to track and conduct studies on the reproductive ecology, migration, and population trends of nesting loggerhead (Caretta caretta), green (Chelonia mydas), leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea) and, Kemp’s ridley (Lepidochelys kempii) sea turtles.
Species of focus: Loggerheads (Caretta caretta), Green turtles (Chelonia mydas)
Volunteer program: No
Tourist activities (Y/N): Yes
Primary Areas of Work: Stranding response, Genetic sampling, Nesting beach monitoring, Satellite telemetry, Beach protection, Environmental education/community outreach
Facebook Profile: https://www.facebook.com/BHIConservancy
Instagram Profile: https://www.instagram.com/BHIConservancy