Fisher

Newport Aquarium 2004: Loggerhead Turtle

A project of Marine Turtle Research Group.

click map for full-size version Fisher has not sent us a message now since the 26th June. Previously, we have received messages from Fisher typically on a daily basis, so this would tend to suggest that Fishers transmitter has ceased to send messages. Please see tracking FAQ for the possible reasons for his transmitters failure. In this instance, since we have received no suspect tracks, and since Fisher is not swimming near underwater rocks and ledges, we would suggest that his transmitter has failed due to either biofouling or battery termination. It is rather rare for a transmitters battery to become exhausted before the turtle damages her transmitter beyond function and we are amazed at what we have managed to achieve in this project.

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Species: Loggerhead
Life Stage: Juvenile
Gender: unknown
Release Date: 2004-07-12 18:00:00
Release Location: 12 Mile Rock, North Carolina
Last Location: 2005-06-26 06:22:15

Adoptive Parents:
Laura Childers
Brooke Triplett
Sue, Dennis & Amanda Zimmerman
Robbie Amster
Marcia Winborne
Debbie Rolfes
Leon Wolf
Emma Lee
Laura Coyne
Mrs. Berlinger's 2004-05 Third Grade Class
C.J.Freeman
Amy Taylor
Freddie Higgins
The Pennsic Independent
Jill Moran
Richard C. Stephenson
Robin Dorsey
Ed and Ginny Lutton
Sam Waters
Sondra Briggs
The Pyle Family
Miss Shannon Bennett
Miss Shannon's Primary Class, MSR
Miss Shannon's Primary Class, MSR
Terri & Roger Alexander
Deborah Arnold
Bill Barrington
Sam and Emily Goodis
World-Source Friends

Background

Found on Fort Fisher beach as a weak hatchling during a nest excavation in the summer of 1995, Fisher was transported to the Fort Fisher aquarium where he was given the care he needed to grow strong and healthy. Visitors to the Aquarium could watch the turtle’s progress as he grew.
By January 2003, Fisher had reached 90 pounds and measured over 2 feet in length. Outgrowing his Fort Fisher home, the now sub-adult loggerhead was loaned to the Newport Aquarium to be featured in Turtles: Journey of Survival, a new exhibit highlighting the plight of sea turtles. During Fisher’s stay in Newport, he was the co-star of the underwater dive show with another loggerhead named Denver and could be seen by visitors in the Aquarium’s largest exhibit, a 385,000-gallon shark tunnel. When the turtle exhibit ended in spring of this year, Newport staff realized that it was time to say goodbye to Fisher and return him to the wild. Now a formidable 150 pounds, Fisher would be a great value to the wild populations of sea turtles. Prior to Fisher’s journey home, he was able to hone his hunting skills as biologists fed him a diet of live foods which he masterfully found and devoured.
We will be eagerly monitoring Fisher’s movements in the hopes that he will adapt quickly to life in the Atlantic. The small sea turtle that grew and inspired so many as an Aquarium star will continue to be a messenger for conservation as his travels are followed and documented. What makes this project so interesting is that Fisher has been in captivity his whole life, and it will be fascinating to see whether his behaviour matches that of the wild turtles satellite tagged in North Carolina. This project was sponsored by the Newport Aquarium in Kentucky.