The following list contains some basic questions that you should answer before deciding on a tagging program and what kind of tags to use in a sea turtle tagging project:

1. Will the individual turtle receiving tags be likely to return and be observed by people working on your project?
If the answer to this question is no, you might want to consider whether it is useful to tag this turtle in the first place (unless it is a satellite transmitter tag). If you are still interested in receiving possible long distance tag returns, then you should consider using tags that are easily visible (i.e. use external flipper tags rather than internal PIT tags).
2. Where are your turtles likely to go after they have been tagged?
In many cases, this is probably not known. However, in those cases when you do know roughly where they go, this information may help in deciding what kinds of tags to use (or avoid). For instance, if you are interested in putting on a radio tag attached by tether, you may want to rethink this kind of tag-attachment if you know that turtles tend to stay close to shore or in estuaries and sounds. This is because these areas usually have shallow water and a higher content of submerged objects (rocks, branches, boatwrecks, etc.) that can more easily snag the tether.
3. If you are using external tags, how permanent is the return address/contact information?
This is extremely important if you want to receive information that may be available several years from when you first applied the tags. Also, if you offer a reward, you should be sure that it will still be available in the future, as some tag returns can be submitted years or decades later. For further discussion on rewards, see our discussion here.
4. Are the tags you want to use appropriate to the size of the turtles?
You should avoid placing large flipper tags on small juvenile turtles, and conversely you should place flipper tags on larger juvenile turtles such that there is room for further unimpeded growth of the flipper where this is expected. Large satellite tags are not suitable for small turtles, as they may greatly affect the turtleÕs behavior. More details and recommendations concerning appropriate types of tags and tag placement are available in the different sections of this site.