The Daily Routine

As Jessee mentioned, we're trying to keep in the habit of running. I don't really like doing it, but I do like having done it. It makes a world of difference in how you feel. For the last two days we've taken advantage of the fact that the water has been dead calm and, instead of just floating around at the dock to cool down, we went for a couple of long snorkels. Yesterday we swam around Dove Cay, and today we crossed the entire bay to Shark Alley. According to Google Maps, each route is about a mile.

View Snorkel Routes in a larger map

The water has gotten much warmer since the winter and it's really nice to be out there. The surface water was especially warm because there were no waves to churn things up, and the thermocline was especially distinct. The top 12 inches was probably 8° or 10° warmer than the water below that. It's just a shame it wasn't this flat when Jessee's family was here.

Dove Cay

We attached our shoes to the signal float. Yes, that is ocean water not pool water, by the way.

Jessee always pulls the float because she's the better swimmer.

There's some new Elk Horn Coral growth on the far side of Dove Cay.

A Massive Lobster

That's a nice leaf.

We saw this same "buddy pair" both days - a Sting Ray and a Bar Jack.

The swim across to Long Cay today was especially eventful. Well, actually, Shark Alley (the area at the tip of Long Cay) was. It never disappoints. We saw three turtles (two large Hawksbills and fairly large Green), 7 Eagle Rays, and a Reef Shark. The two Hawksbills had tags, and when they saw us they took off without looking back. I guess they recognized us. The Green turtle came swimming by while I was photographing the shark. I actually got both of them in a single frame. Shark Alley is really one of a kind. If you saw any single one of these animals in the Dominican Republic, it would be something to talk about. Here you're not even finished looking at one when another comes swimming by. This is really a special place.

We started at the dock for a more direct line across the bay.

Barracudas spend most of their time lurking.

It's a bit grainy, but the turtle is just behind the shark in the lower left.

Queen Triggerfish

There was an abandoned fish trap at Shark Alley with a Coney trapped inside. I decided I'd free him. Sometimes in rough weather traps get lost. Until all the bait is used up, they'll continue trapping fish, which simply die of starvation. It took about 10 breath-hold dives to get the gate open. I had to untie several knots and bend some wires, but eventually I did it.

The fish is in the top right corner.

Gate's Open

And the fish is free. You can see him swimming away to the left.

Yesterday afternoon we went for a dive too. Right off the boat we saw the biggest Snapper (a Dog Snapper, I think). It was probably 3.5 or 4 feet long, absolutely enormous for a commercially valuable species! I can't imagine what it weighed. It was a beast. Again, there aren't many places in the world where fish like this still exist.

Monster Snapper

This Cero Mackerel swam curiously around us for several minutes.

Jessee looking at her favorite fish, the Sharpnose Puffer.

Fish Cay

I was invited to go along on a turtling trip today. The destination was Fish Cay (a small island South of here frequented by the fishermen) and Middle Reefs (a series of patch reefs between Long Cay and Six Hills Cay). I got the day started early and was down at the dock waiting a few minutes before the arranged time (8am) this morning. In typical island fashion, though, we set out around 10:30 after running several of errands.

The boat was called "El Cacique" (or "The Chief")

The wind was out of the West today, so the water was very flat behind Long Cay. When we were passing through, I was hoping so much that we'd see the whales. We were in one of the DECR boats instead of one the School's boats, so our range wouldn't have been so limited. I kept an eye out all day, but unfortunately we didn't see them.

The water didn't stay flat all day though, and made much of the ride quite jarring as a result. It wasn't possible to stand (which allows you to absorb much of the shock in your legs), so I just had to sit tight was the boat slammed against the waves.

When we arrived at Fish Cay we went to shore briefly to check for nests. The Turks and Caicos isn't a very popular nesting area (likely due to over-harvesting in the past), but there are a few beaches that are regular nesting sights. I didn't know it until today, but adult females can lay eggs as many as 8 times a year. Though, most years they do it far fewer times and often not at all.

We didn't find any nests, but we did find some tourists that came over for the day from the nearby (and privately owned) Big Ambergris Cay. I bet they came halfway across the world (on a private jet, no doubt) to have that beach to themselves, and there we came trudging over the hill salty and disheveled. You wouldn't have believed the number of diamonds this lady had on her finger - an essential accessory of sunbathing.

We "manta towed" around Fish Cay for a couple hours. I was a little wary of manta towing in that area because of the reputation it has for sharks. The fishermen claim to see Tiger Sharks around there, and it was there that the recent attack happened. Being pulled around by a boat makes you feel a lot like bait. Luckily we didn't see anything more than a Nurse Shark (which do not have teeth and are not predators). We did see lots of Eagles Rays though (which, of course, are harmless).

I had 4 turtle sightings (all Hawksbills) and we had 2 captures. The two that got away may have just been one that got away twice - it was a fairly big Hawksbill both times. I captured the first one (the smallest of them all) with ease. It could barely swim faster than me with it's tiny little flippers. It only took about 10 seconds to get him.

My little Hawksbill. We'll call him Felipe.

The other one that we caught at Fish Cay was also a small Hawksbill, but he really ran for it. He was also in much deeper water, so getting to him was much more difficult. We slipped free from each of our hands once and really tired us out before Tom finally brought him to the surface.

Tom's Hawksbill. We'll call him Manuel.
(Hawksbills often have dirty, algae covered shells).

We wrapped things up at Fish Cay and headed over to Middle Reefs. It's not far from Six Hills Cay (which from our angle looked more like 7 or 8 Hills Cay). I'd never been to that area before. Visibility was quite bad today (likely due to the Westerly wind), but it's probably usually really nice. We only had 1 sighting there, but it was a successful capture. Tom nabbed a little Green that was not much bigger than the one Jessee got last week.

Tom's Green. We'll call him Gustavo.

Releasing Gustavo
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nx68ajLMNWM)

Turtle Tagging

We had the chance to do some more turtle capturing today. This time Jessee got to bring one in. The group got three in all - two small Greens and one big Hawksbill. Jessee spotted the Hawksbill first and called us over for the chase. And chase we did! We were after it for probably 50 minutes or more. The water was really rough and Jessee and I followed it from one end of the bay clear across to the other side. The big ones can go longer without getting tired because it takes them less effort to move a given distance. I got really tired and called to the boat to shuttle me ahead. Jessee kept on its tail and kept on eye on it.

It was heading out towards deep water, so I dove down in front of it and tried to scare it back in the other direction, but it was determined to get out there. It was around this point that Jessee looked to her side to see a Hammerhead. A Hammerhead! I was oblivious. I didn't even know about it until well after things settled down. She says it was a really small one, a juvenile less than a meter long, and that it took a few seconds for her to realize what she was looking at. She kept her eye on the prize, however, and kept following the turtle.

At this point we'd been giving chase for quite a while and were completely knackered (so was the turtle though). I decided to call to our boat to radio the other boat for assistance. It's a good thing too. Jessee really needed a break. By this time the turtle had made it to significantly deeper water (about 30 ft) and wasn't far from drop-off. Fortunately John, a practiced free diver and the fastest swimmer of us all, arrived with the other boat and took over. It took him another 15 minutes or so, but he finally got it. He was in water well over 100 feet deep and just waited at the surface until it had to come up for air. When it started coming, he dove down and grabbed on. He didn't say, but it must have taken him for a ride. It was so big that it wouldn't have been possible to overpower it in the water. The only thing you can do is hold on and point its head where you want to go. You face the head upwards and it brings you up for air. Then you just have to keep its front flippers out of the water until the boat gets there - easier said than done when the water is as rough as it was and turtle is as heavy as it was (it weighted 32.5kg, about 71lbs.!). But we got there quickly enough with the boat to get it on board. In the process though, it bit John and nearly got a couple more of us. It wasn't major, but these big turtles can really do damage if they try.

Back at the Dock

The Hawksbill had a strange spike in it's neck as if it had mistakenly swallowed something sharp. It was old, though, because the skin was completely healed around it.

We removed it and cleaned the wound.

Measurements

We took this one to the dock straight away to take measurements and samples. I stayed to help with that and the others went back out in search of more. They eventually came back with two little Greens, one of which Jessee spotted, chased down, and caught all on her own!

"Pearl" - Jessee's little Green

Pearl weighed less than 5 lbs!

Waiting to go home.

The other little Green was missing a back flipper. It's not uncommon to see turtles missing limbs, but this one looked like a birth defect rather than a wound because there was no scaring.

Without ever trying it, you'd think there'd be no way humans could keep pace with a sea turtle. And certainly when they sprint we can't, but we're surprisingly good at out running them over long distances (especially if you can keep them come coming up for air that often). I once heard a story on NPR about humans being particularly well adapted for running marathons and, in fact, can even out run horses in a distance race. The same goes for sea turtles, I guess.

The Release

p.s. If you've been wondering about Suzie, she's still at home in the Black Rocks Bay area of East Caicos. I've been checking her location periodically to see if she's coming down to visit South.

Turtling

This morning we went turtling. The students had an exam and the turtle researchers were in need of some assistance, so most of the staff went out to help. We took both of our remaining boats in search of turtles in the harbor. One boat used the "Manta Tow" method (where you get pulled behind the boat until you spot a turtle) and the other group just went snorkeling around.

Manta Towing

Jessee and I were in the snorkeling group. I preferred that because I really need the exercise these days. Basically we just swam around until somebody spotted one and then we all gave chase, using the boat to ferry snorkelers ahead. It's works sort of like a relay race until the turtle is so tired it can't run anymore. At that point it usually sits on the bottom and we're able to dive down and grab it.

The snorkeling group managed to get two and the Manta Tow group got one - two Hawksbills and a Green (it's a shame we weren't after Eagle Rays because there were loads of them). I made my first capture using this method, though the credit is mostly due to John who is incredibly good at swimming after and wearing the turtles out. He let me get one of them anyway. I dove down and grabbed on on the first try, but I also got hold of a clump of soft corals. I let go with that hand to release the coral and the turtle wiggled loose. Fortunately it was very tired and didn't make it far before settling on the bottom again. This time it cleverly nestled into a patch of fire coral. I dove down again, but reached for it cautiously so as not to be stung by the coral, and it got away again! It wasn't until my fourth attempt that I managed to hold on and bring it to the surface.

Success!

Struggling on the Surface (both of us!)

HELP!

On the Boat

It was a lot of fun to get out and spend the morning in the water. Jessee really enjoyed it too - she was commenting how she rarely has time to get out there anymore. It makes a big difference to have something out of the routine.

The Day's Catch: 2 Hawksbills & 1 Green
(Don't worry, putting them on their backs doesn't hurt them! It actually calms them down and keeps them from crawling around and getting into trouble)

What's Suzie Doing?

Everybody was pretty sure Suzie was on the final leg of her journey, soon to return to TCI waters, but now she's in the Bahamas. She's traveled something in the range of 6000 km and visited many countries.

Suzie's Track

As she approached the southwest corner of Hispaniola in December, there was a lot of excitement that she might be home for Christmas (read about it in the news: http://www.tcweeklynews.com/link.asp?smenu=85&sdetail=1798&wpage=1). But she turned east instead of traveling between Haiti and Cuba directly to the Turks and Caicos. There was some fear for her safety in Haitian waters as the turtle fishery is quite large there. Social tensions bubbled to the surface as TCI Belongers warned of backlash towards Haitian expats living on South Caicos if she went missing in Haitian waters. We joked that it was going to incite an international incident and cause rioting on South. More than likely it was all talk, but it demonstrates the real interest local people have taken in her and the affection they have for her. I don't think anybody anticipated the level of awareness and local pride Suzie would generate, especially among people who routinely eat turtles.

The fisherman who caught Suzie (originally intending to make a meal out of her) is particularly proud, and he often jokes that if he had known that she'd become so famous, he would have demanded more money for her.

After heading east along the southern coast of Hispaniola, Suzie rounded the corner and picked up her pace. Keeping a close eye on her progress, we were pretty sure she had finally found her way and was headed directly back home. In fact, if she had continued that path and speed, she probably would have arrived today. She's currently off the coast of Great Inauga, Bahamas and, according the project webpage, the researchers are speculating that she might need to be down current of the TCI to detect them. Will she be home soon?

Project Page: http://www.seaturtle.org/tracking/index.shtml?project_id=398

Rodeo at the Blue Hole

Today Jessee and I went on a "turtle rodeo." That's the name the turtle researchers have given to a particular method of capturing turtles. The way it works is you drive the boat around in prime turtle habitat with as many people as possible acting as spotters. When a turtle is spotted you follow it in the boat to tire it out. Once it comes up for a breath or two it's pretty much knackered and will sit nearly motionless on the bottom. Then one person dives in head-first and grabs on. Pretty exciting! Some are better at it than others. Gilbert, a local fisherman and project assistant, can get them on the first try nearly every time. Jessee and I took 4 and 5 tries each before getting ours!

Crossing the Caicos Bank

The researchers wanted to target Green Turtles today, so we chose to go to habitat that is ideal for them. They mostly graze on seagrass and there is a great spot to find them around the Middle Caicos "Blue Hole." The Blue Hole is a collapsed underwater cave. It's on the bank side of the Middle Caicos (the shallow side opposite the open ocean), so the water is only about 4 or 5 feet deep around it. The hole itself, however, drops straight down to about 200 feet. It's a pretty famous place. In fact, according to one of the researchers, it was explored by Jacques Cousteau. Green Turtles like it there because the hole is a safe place to hide and provides easy access to the seagrass beds.


View Middle Caicos - Blue Hole in a larger map.
(http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&t=h&source=embed&msa=0&msid=104781959957579632954.00047adff0bb53528862e&ll=21.729524,-71.799431&spn=0.149577,0.308647&z=12)
Immediately upon arriving at the hole we spotted our first turtle - a huge Green! We turned quickly and tried to cut it off from the hole, just a second too late. It ducked under the boat and disappeared into the deep. There was no hope of getting that one unless it came out on its own. They need to be up on the bank in the shallow water for the rodeo method to work.

Gilbert rode on the bow of the boat where he could get a better vantage. From there he was able to spot them long before we ever could. I'm not sure if it had anything to do with it, but maybe we weren't as good at catching them because we weren't dressed in the proper turtle-catching attire. He was wearing a pair of old whitie-tighties and one rubber dishwashing glove!

Gilbert

Of the next four turtles we spotted, he nabbed three. The only one that got away made a quick maneuver under the sun's glare and we lost its trail. The first two were young Greens, and the third was a massive adult Hawksbill.

Gilbert catching turtles.
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvFcVpxc39k)

Green #1: measuring curved carapace width.

Almost time for release.

A Monster Hawksbill - in the range of 30 years old and in egg bearing condition.

Measuring curved carapace width. It took a little weight on her back to keep her from crawling all over the boat.

Ready for release.

Whereas the Greens sat quietly and calmly while we took measurements and DNA samples, the Hawksbill was feisty. It kept flapping around, trying to crawl away, and snapping its jaws. The size of it was quite intimidating. Each time it reached out to bite I was thinking how easily it would be able to take off a finger. When we went to release her, she actually got hold of Dave's foot! Dave (the other fisherman helping us out today) yelped in pain, but luckily the turtle let go without much damage. She could have easily taken out a chunk of meat! You can hear when it happens in the video above. After the fact Dave joked that he wished he had thought to bite her back.

Bite mark on Dave's foot.

Green #2: posing for photos.

Green #2: on its back to measure plastron and tail.

Green #2: measuring curved carapace length.

Shortly after getting her on board, we spotted another small Green. This time it was my turn to try catching it. Gilbert called me up onto the bow and gave me instructions how to do it. He made sure to have Dave, who was driving the boat, follow the turtle for longer to make sure she was extra tired. When the moment was right Gilbert gave me the cue to jump on it. No luck. My hands sunk into the muddy bottom and there was no turtle. Twice, possibly three times, more I missed. On the final attempt I adjusted for refraction, slid my hand back and few inches and got hold! I brought it to the surface and quickly passed her off to the boat. You can hear me struggling to stay above water in the video.

Catching a Green
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPEtON-90as)

Green #3: my catch.

Jessee was up next for our final turtle of the day. She had a little trouble getting hers too, but finally did in the end. She probably would have had it on the first or second jump, but she was trying to be gentle. We didn't want to hurt them, but the truth is they are pretty rugged (as evidenced by the ones we've seen missing flippers and chunks of shell). Jessee's actually had two pieces of shell missing from the back end. They were completely healed, but at one time must have been serious wounds.

Jessee's Turn
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ym4PwzigPi4)

Green #4: Jessee's catch.

Green #4: healed wound on rear of shell.

It was a great day out on the water and the best way we could have spent our last day before break. Tomorrow morning is our flight back to the States. We're headed to Florida first, then Philadelphia, Maryland, and New York. Jessee's also planning to spend a day in Boston with her sister. We're probably not going to keep up the blog while we're away, but we'll start again when we return on 2 January.