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Sea Turtle Research

Our research focuses mainly on the three sea turtle species most commonly encountered in North Carolina waters:

Juvenile loggerhead turtle
equipped with satellite transmitter
(Caretta caretta)
Photo Credit: SEFSC Beaufort Lab

• loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta)
• green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas)
• Kemp's ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys kempii)

Our primary research goals are to:

• obtain estimates of growth rates, stage durations, and age
  
  
• conduct in-water population studies
  
  
• establish baseline health parameters
  
  
• collect public sightings data
  
  
• mitigate interactions with military activities and fisheries
  
  
• investigate foraging ecology

loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta)	green turtle (Chelonia mydas)	Kemp's ridley turtle (Lepidochelys kempii)
Photo Credit: SEFSC Beaufort Lab