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Marine Turtle Newsletter 43:7-8, © 1988

Pit Tag Central Data Registry

Sharon A. Manzella
Life Studies Division, NMFS/SEFC Galveston Laboratory, 4700 Avenue U,
Galveston, Texas 77551-5997 USA

PIT (Passive integrated transponder) tags (Fontaine et al., 1987 MTN 41:6) may prove to be a better way of permanently marking individual sea turtles than currently used flipper tags. Because use of the internally implanted PIT tag is increasing, it was decided by the Kemp's Ridley Working Group at the October 1987 meeting in Albuquerque, New Mexico (USA), that the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), Southeast Fisheries Center (SEFC), Galveston Laboratory will act as the central registry for data on PIT tags used to tag captive and wild sea turtles. The centralized data file will allow researchers who find a sea turtle with a PIT tag, and are not able to identify the person or organization who tagged the animal, to contact the Galveston Laboratory and request a computer search to determine who applied the tag, and where and when the turtle was tagged.

The Galveston Laboratory will maintain a data base containing tag numbers (codes), species, tagging organization, release information and recovery information. Data forms for recording release and recovery information have been developed, following formats similar to those of the Sea Turtle Stranding and Salvage Network's Cooperative Marine Turtle Tagging Program form and Stranding Report form. All information collected will be entered and stored using dBASE III data management software on a personal computer (IBM PCAT compatible). Copies of the release and recovery forms can be requested from the Galveston Laboratory at the address following this announcement.

Upon use of PIT tags, PIT Tag Release Data forms should be completed and sent to the Galveston Laboratory. When a turtle is tagged with a PIT tag, I suggest the implanted tag number (code) be checked with the ID reader and the displayed tag number (code) be recorded. This is a double-check to make sure the tag number (code) recorded for an individual turtle is the one actually implanted into that turtle. Also, record any other tag numbers (codes) from inconel, monel, titanium or plastic flipper tags and record any tag scars or living-tags if present. When a sea turtle is recovered and a PIT tag detected, send the Galveston Laboratory a copy of the PIT Tag Recovery Data form. If information on tagged, released and recovered animals is sent to the Galveston Laboratory on a timely basis, the data will be entered into the computer and kept up to date for availability upon request.