seaturtle.org : MTN : ARCHIVES : Sign In

Figure 1. Geographic location of Cayo Largo (Cuba) and San Bernardo Archipelago, Colombia.

The loggerhead was tagged with a Monel tag (CB253) from the tagging program of the Fisheries Research Center (CIP-Cuba), which has been tagging sea turtles since 1989 in different nesting and feeding areas of the Cuban Archipelago; they also release hatchlings from hatcheries that exist on the island. The loggerhead was tagged by the staff of Marina Marlin (Cayo Largo) and released on 2 May 2017 from the hatchery located in Cayo Largo.

Cayo Largo is located at the eastern end of the Canarreos Archipelago. It is the most important nesting site for green and loggerhead turtles in the Cuban Archipelago and one of the main sites for green turtles in the Caribbean Sea (Medina et al. 2009; Nodarse et al. 2010).

The recaptured loggerhead came from a nest that hatched in September 2015 at Cayo Largo. A number of green and loggerhead hatchlings are headstarted and kept in captivity in the Marine Turtle Rescue Center. Here, they are kept for one year or more and are released before they reach two years of age. Upon release, the loggerhead of interest for this report measured 50 cm curved carapace length (CCL) and weighed 13.5 kg.

On 29 June 2017, loggerhead CB253 was recaptured within the San Bernardo Archipelago on Tintipán Island by the staff of the Punta Norte Hotel. These individuals attempted to release the turtle immediately; however, the turtle had a buoyancy disorder and was subsequently taken to the marine turtle conservation program of the PNNCRySB, Punta Faro Hotel and Sueños de Mar Foundation on Isla de Múcura.

The San Bernardo Archipelago has an area of 4.2 km2 and is part of the PNNCRySB created in December 1996 by the Ministry of the Environment. It is located in the Colombian Caribbean, in its central region and consists of nine natural islands of coral origin and one artificial island: Boquerón, Cabruna, Palma, Ceycén, Panda, Múcura, Mangle, Maravilla, Tintipán, and an artificial island known as Santa Cruz (Díaz et al. 2000).

The loggerhead was kept in rehabilitation for 39 days for observation. During this time, the buoyancy disorder was continually evaluated, until its subsequent release on 6 August under the bimonthly marine turtle release program led by the PNNCRySB. The loggerhead measured 50.5 cm curved carapace length (CCL) in Colombia, weighed 12.5 kg and was given an additional plastic tag with identification 577 on its front left flipper.

The Marine Turtle Conservation Program was established 20 years ago to conserve marine turtles in the PNNCRySB, due to the direct and incidental fishing of sea turtles in the area for many years. The fishermen in the area were unaware of their current conservation status and local threats. Initially, the program was directed exclusively to the area of the Rosario Archipelago. In 2015, in support of the Punta Faro Hotel and the Sueños de Mar Foundation, the Marine Turtle Protection Program was created in the San Bernardo Archipelago. There, the fishermen deliver the turtles that they capture to hotel staff, where they remain for approximately two months in a natural swimming pool under the supervision of trained personnel of the local national parks. Releases are conducted with local community children under the environmental education program for the conservation of key species within the territory (TN Stephanie Pauwels, personal communication, 12 December 2017).

The time between the initial date of release and the date of recapture was 59 days. Therefore, we can estimate that the turtle traveled between the Cuban Archipelago and the San Bernardo Archipelago in Colombia in a very short time. It is important to note that other species of sea turtles tagged in the Cuban Archipelago, such as the hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata), have been recaptured in Colombian waters (e.g., a satellite-tagged nesting female and a juvenile specimen tagged with a metallic tag were both recaptured in this area; Moncada et al. 2012). It is apparent that the area of the Colombian Caribbean could be a destination area for turtles in different life stages traveling from Cuba.

The San Bernardo Archipelago serves as an important nesting and/or feeding area for sea turtles in the Colombian Caribbean, due to the presence of coral reefs, seagrasses and sandy beaches (Rincón-Diaz & Rodríguez-Zarate 2004). Studies have shown that juvenile, subadult, and adult hawksbill and green turtles (Chelonia mydas) are primarily present; most of the evidence of the presence of loggerhead turtles in the area comes from local fishermen (Ceballos-Fonseca 2004).

This record is important for the contribution of knowledge of the loggerhead turtle in the Greater Caribbean, but also essential for knowledge of the species in Colombia. Worldwide, the loggerhead turtle is categorized as Vulnerable according to the IUCN (2017). In Colombia, according to the Red Book of Reptiles of Colombia (2015) it is categorized as Critically Endangered, being one of the three species, of the five species present in the country, with the highest risk of extinction as well as the hawksbill turtle (E. imbricata) and the leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) due mainly to the consumption of their eggs and meat in adults, subadults and juveniles (Barrientos-Muñoz et al. 2015; Páez et al. 2015; Ramírez-Gallego et al. 2015).

In Colombia, loggerhead turtles have the highest risk of local extinction (Amaya-Espinel & Zapata 2014; Páez et al. 2015). Kaufmann (1973) and Tufts (1973) estimated that more than 400 females nest annually in the old Buritaca Reserve, with an additional 600 females/year nesting at Buritaca Beaches in Don Diego and Quintana, Department of Magdalena (Ceballos-Fonseca 2004). At present there are no sites in Colombia with more than six nests per season (Páez et al. 2015).

Our report provides valuable information regarding the migratory behavior, habitat use, and time of displacement of highly migratory species such as sea turtles, as well as the importance of regional efforts for conservation and management of sea turtles in the Greater Caribbean.

Acknowledgments. We thank the Staff of Marina Marlin (Cayo Largo) who have been tagging Cayo Largo sea turtles for years. We also thank Miguel Angel de Hoyos Camero and the staff of Punta Norte Hotel for the rescue of the turtle and subsequent delivery to the Marine Turtle Conservation Program in the area. Special thanks to the Chief of the Protected Area TN Stephanie Pauwels, Jorge Moreno, and Guido Lopez who serve as officials of the PNNCRySB; Alejandro Alzate (Sueños de Mar Foundation) and Oscar Alzate (Punta Faro Hotel) who were crucial in the process of data collection, care, and subsequent release of the turtle. The authors thank Dr. Karen L. Eckert (WIDECAST) and the late Peter Eliazar of the Archie Carr Center for Sea Turtle Research (ACCSTR) including the CMTTP (Cooperative Marine Turtle Tagging Program) for their support in the quick and timely search for information. Lastly, we thank Sarah Hirsch and Dr. Justin Perrault and of Loggerhead Marinelife Center, Florida for helping us improve the quality of this manuscript.

AMAYA-ESPINEL, J.D. & L.A. ZAPATA. 2014. Guía de las especies migratorias de la biodiversidad en Colombia. Insectos, murciélagos, tortugas marinas, mamíferos marinos y dulceacuícolas. Vol. 3. Ministerio de Ambiente y Desarrollo Sostenible / WWF-Colombia. Bogotá, D. C., Colombia. 370 pp.

BARRIENTOS-MUÑOZ, KG., C. RAMÍREZ-GALLEGO & V. PÁEZ. 2015. Tortuga carey. Eretmochelys imbricata (Linnaeus, 1766). In: Morales-Betancourt, M.A., C.A. Lasso, V.P. Páez & B. Bock (Eds.). Libro Rojo de Reptiles de Colombia (2015). Instituto de Investigación de Recursos Biológicos Alexander von Humboldt, Universidad de Antioquia, Bogotá, D.C., Colombia. pp. 127-131.
CEBALLOS-FONSECA, C.P. 2004. Distribución de playas de anidación y áreas de alimentación de tortugas marinas y sus amenazas en el Caribe colombiano. Boletín de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras 33: 79-99.

DIAZ, J.M., L.M. BARRIOS, M.H. CENDALES, J. GARZÓN-FERREIRA, J. GEISTER, M. LÓPEZ-VICTORIA, G.H. OSPINA, F. PARRA-VALENDIA, J. PINZÓN, B. VARGAS-ANGEL, F.A. ZAPATA & S. ZEA. 2000. Áreas coralinas de Colombia. INVEMAR, Santa Marta, Serie Publicaciones Especiales No. 5, 176 pp.

KAUFMANN, R. 1973. Biología de las tortugas marinas Caretta caretta y Dermochelys coriacea, de la costa Atlántica colombiana. Revista de la Academia Colombiana de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales 14: 67-80.

MEDINA, Y., F. MONCADA & G. NODARSE. 2009. Anidación de la tortuga verde (Chelonia mydas) y caracterización de las playas en Cayo Largo, Cuba. Revista Cubana de Investigaciones Pesqueras 26: 66-72.

MONCADA, F., G. NODARSE, Y. MEDINA & E. ESCOBAR. 2012. Distribution, size composition and growth of immature hawksbill turtles (E. imbricata) in the Jardines de la Reina archipelago, Cuba. In: T.T. Jones & B.P. Wallace (Comps.). Proceedings of the 31st International Sea Turtle Symposium. NOAA Tech Memo NMFS-SEFSC-631. p. 235.

MONCADA, F., L.A. HAWKES, M.R. FISH, B.J. GODLEY, S.C. MANOLIS, Y. MEDINA, G. NODARSE & G. WEBB. 2012. Patterns of dispersal of hawksbill turtles from the Cuban shelf inform scale of conservation and management. Biological Conservation 148: 191-199.

NODARSE, G., F. MONCADA, Y. MEDINA, C. RODRÍGUEZ, F. HERNÁNDEZ, R. BLANCO & E. ESCOBAR. 2010. Comportamiento de la anidación de tortugas marinas en los Cayos San Felipe y Archipiélago de los Canarreos, Cuba (2001-2006). Revista Cubana de Investigaciones Pesqueras 27: 67-71.

PÁEZ, V., C. RAMÍREZ-GALLEGO., K.G. BARRIENTOS-MUÑOZ. 2015. Tortuga caguama. Caretta caretta (Linnaeus, 1758). In: Morales-Betancourt, M.A., C.A. Lasso, V.P. Páez & B. Bock (Eds.). Libro Rojo de Reptiles de Colombia (2015). Instituto de Investigación de Recursos Biológicos Alexander von Humboldt, Universidad de Antioquia, Bogotá, D.C., Colombia. pp. 118-121.

RAMÍREZ-GALLEGO, C., V. PÁEZ & K.G. BARRIENTOS-MUÑOZ. 2015. Tortuga caná. Dermochelys coriacea (Vandelli, 1761). In: Morales-Betancourt, M.A., C.A. Lasso, V.P. Páez & B. Bock (Eds.). Libro Rojo de Reptiles de Colombia (2015). Instituto de Investigación de Recursos Biológicos Alexander von Humboldt, Universidad de Antioquia, Bogotá, D.C., Colombia. pp. 122-126.

RINCÓN-DÍAZ, M.P. & C.J. RODRÍGUEZ-ZARATE. 2004. Caracterización de playas de anidación y zonas de alimentación de tortugas marinas en el archipiélago de San Bernardo, Caribe colombiano. Boletin de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras 33: 137-158.

TUFTS, C.E. 1973. Report on the Butitaca Marine Turtle Nesting Reserve with Emphasis on Biological Data from “Operation Tortuga 1972” and Recommendations for the Future. Report for Inderena-Cuerpo de Paz. Bogotá, D.F., Colombia. 73 pp.