Cat Island, Bahamas biologger recovery

Director at Arribada, a UK-based conservation technology research & development organisation

Groups

Biologging

Hi everyone,

A random request to see if any WILDLAB members may live in, or near the Bahamas on the off chance that you could help to recover one of our plastic bottle tracking devices that beached on Cat Island this morning? Happy to cover the costs to get there and back (if you are near enough) so you can post it home.

The device is a tracked 500ml plastic water bottle, released from Portugal in June 2022, having spent 530 days at sea to understand the movement of plastic ocean litter. Getting it back would let us assess the biofouling levels, status of the device, and I'd probably frame it on the office wall to be honest! Quite the journey.

It's location as of 7th Dec 2023 - 24.2903°, -75.3798°

Full track - https://oceantracking.arribada.org/originalmap/un_ocean.html?=refresh

Let me know!

Yvan Satgé

@YvanSG | he/him

Clemson University

Seabird ecologist at Clemson University, South Carolina Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit. Co-chair of Caribbean Seabird Working Group.

15 December 2023 3:09pm

Hi Alasdair,

I can help spread the message to the Caribbean seabird and sea turtle communities (see my private message).

Can you share a few photos of the bottle (new and others that might have been recovered), so people know what they are looking for?

Yvan

Thomas Gray

@ThomasGray_Argos

Woods Hole Group

Argos satellite system manager for North America

12 January 2024 4:07pm

Were you guys able to recover the tag? @Alasdair

Herdhanu Jayanto

@hjayanto | He/Him

Your friendly Indo-Crocky-Croc

17 January 2024 6:05pm

Hi Alasdair,

I am also curious with the result, were you able to recover the tag? Also is there any that ended up in Indonesia sea? We would love to help the recovery if any.

Cheers,

Dhanu

Alasdair Davies

@Alasdair

Arribada Initiative

Director at Arribada, a UK-based conservation technology research & development organisation

23 January 2024 2:37pm

Hi @ThomasGray_Argos, @YvanSG and @hjayanto,

Thank you all for getting in touch. Luckily the Cat Island Institute via YME Bahamas got in touch and prepared an expedition to recover it. They couldn't access the beach during the first attempt, but a second attempt is planned. I'll hopefully be able to recover it shortly.

Thanks again,

Alasdair