The Acoustic Tagging project
This project sets out to estimate the size of the sea turtle population, identify the areas they favour, and analyse how they use the lagoon and the outer reef slopes at Tetiaroa.
Early results show densities of juvenile turtles that are at times substantial in certain parts of the reef. The project seeks to confirm the hypothesis that the lagoon’s food resources make it a sanctuary for the region’s green turtles. This information is essential to developing management and conservation measures — all the more so as no study of habitat use by immature green turtles has ever been carried out in French Polynesia.
In 2024, our team fitted acoustic tags to 11 immature green turtles in the Tetiaroa lagoon.
Objectives of the Acoustic Tagging project
- Authorisations from the Environment Department of French Polynesia (DIREN) to fit acoustic tags to juvenile and sub-adult sea turtles.
- Analysis of the movements and distribution of sea turtles within the lagoon of Tetiaroa atoll.
- Use of the acoustic receivers already installed in the lagoon for other scientific projects.