Shyvonne

Turks and Caicos Islands Turtle Project 2009 to 2012: Green & Hawksbill Turtles

A project of Marine Turtle Research Group.

click map for full-size version 02.01.2011: Shyvonne nested at least 4 times on Gibbs Cay near Grand Turk in August and September 2010 before heading back to her resident feeding grounds in Whites Bay, off Camporico in St. Croix of the US Virgin Islands. Her patch is downstream of the Cruzan rum factory effluent outflow!! We have not received any transmissions from Shyvonne since mid-December, which suggests her tag has failed.

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Species: Green Turtle
Life Stage: Adult
Gender: Female
Release Date: 2010-09-12 10:00:00
Release Location: Gibbs Cay, Turks and Caicos Islands
Last Location: 2010-12-17 17:31:31

Adoptive Parents:
Kay and Pat Meyer
Sally Waugh
Chirs Cox & Anne Jacobi
Kathy Kilgore
Ian Kirby

Background

This big and beautiful green turtle (112.8 cm CCL) was tagged during a nesting emergence on Gibbs Cay after Project Officer Amdeep Sanghera correctly predicted her internesting interval. Amdeep had unsuccessfully attempted to satellite tag her 11 days previously during one of her previous nesting attempts on Gibbs Cay and just before Hurricane Earl swept by the TCI.
DECR Environmental Officer Jodi Johnson and TCI Police Force Instructor Ali Smith also spent a night on the Cay with Amdeep helping with the tag deployment, and it was Jodi who spotted her emerge from the surf. We had to use a different epoxy this time (Sika Anchorfix 1), which presented some problems during attachment and ruined Jodi's nails!
Thanks to all involved in the effort, including Smitty from Grand Turk Diving Company who took Amdeep to Gibbs Cay several times in previous weeks to allow him to predict the nesting emergences. This turtle has been named Shyvonne by Grand Turk fishers in honour of one of their particularly troublesome wives after all the trouble Amdeep had trying to tag her - fingers-crossed the epoxy holds!
This tag was sponsored by the British Chelonia Group.