Turtle Tagging

Marine turtles have long played an important role in the lives of the Marshallese people having been a part of the culture for centuries. By far the most common turtle in the RMI is and always has been the green sea turtle (wõn). Also known but not nearly as common is the hawksbill (jõbake). Both are known to nest in the Marshall Islands, but nesting by hawksbills is rare. Leatherback and olive ridley turtles are known as transients, mainly from records of interaction with commercial fishing vessels operating within the Marshall Islands’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

MIMRA has an observer training program that trains observers how to properly handle and release incidentally captured turtles from longline and purse seine gear, to increase turtles’ chances of survival. Observers also learnt techniques on how to measure, tag (with metal tags donated by the South Pacific Environment Programme (SPREP)), and document turtle-fisheries interactions and share data with the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC).