Turtagning

Turtagning, or turtle tagging, is the practice of marking individual turtles to study population dynamics, movement, and survival. Tagging programs are used for both sea turtles and freshwater species and are implemented by researchers, conservation organizations, and sometimes citizen scientists under approved protocols.

Techniques range from external tags placed on the limbs or shell to implanted microchips and satellite or radio telemetry for tracking longer-distance movements. Common markers include metal or plastic flipper tags, passive integrated transponder (PIT) tags, and, for larger individuals, archival or satellite tags that record location data.

Data from turtagning support estimates of population size, migration routes, nesting-site fidelity, growth, and survivorship. They also help identify threats such as bycatch in fisheries, habitat loss, and climate-related changes in sex ratios for species with temperature-dependent sex determination.

Ethical and regulatory considerations require minimizing handling time and stress, ensuring proper training, and obtaining permits from relevant authorities. Research protocols typically follow national and international guidelines for wildlife research and receive oversight from institutional animal care and use committees or equivalent bodies.

Tag loss, tag read failures, and data gaps are common challenges. High costs and logistical constraints can limit study scale, while organizers increasingly complement tagging with non-invasive methods such as photo-identification and genetic sampling.