The Sea Turtle Subcommittee is a group with expertise in sea turtle distribution, behavior, and monitoring across Atlantic ecosystems that share information about ongoing and planned research, identify key data gaps, and help maintain alignment and coordination among research and data collection teams.
The Subcommittee meets multiple times per year. All are welcome to participate. Subscribe to the RWSC newsletter to receive monthly reminders and calendar invitations. View the latest Sea Turtle Subcommittee Meeting materials.
WORKING GROUPS
Sea Turtle Subcommittee members have formed several smaller working groups to accomplish tasks under specific themes.
Sea Turtle Baseline Data Working Group
This group developed an understanding of the various methods used to characterize sea turtle distribution, movement, behavior, and health in U.S. Atlantic waters. Telemetry was identified as a method most likely to successfully detect changes in sea turtle distribution, relative abundance, and behavior, likely in combination with other methods (e.g., eDNA, camera and drone studies, health indices). The group is assessing existing sea turtle data, including data fitness and accessibility for use in regional analyses.
Sea Turtle Acoustic Telemetry Working Group
The Sea Turtle Acoustic Telemetry Working Group collaborates with the Protected Fish Species Subcommittee, Responsible Offshore Science Alliance, and regional telemetry networks to coordinate acoustic telemetry receiver deployment and tag data collection offshore.