Sea Turtles in the Azores

01/06/2026

31/05/2026

25/05/2026

A new study published in Scientific Reports has provided the most comprehensive analysis to date of the diving behavior of juvenile leatherback and loggerhead sea turtles.

Using over 2,400 daily records from 71 juvenile turtles equipped with miniaturized satellite tags across multiple ocean basins, the latest research paper reveals new insights into their diving behavior and habitat use.

This study is part of Upwell’s Lost Years’ Initiative, an international, collaborative effort to explore the promise of new tag miniaturization technologies and their potential to shed light on the “lost years” period of sea turtle life history.

Read more here: Candela, T., Gaspar, P., Bailey, H. et al. Pioneering insights into the diving behavior of early-stage sea turtles revealed by novel marine miniaturized satellite tags. Sci Rep (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-47239-6

08/05/2026

🇵🇹 Como podemos detetar tartarugas marinhas sem sequer as ver? 🌊🐢

Estamos a testar diferentes metodologias (ativas e passivas) que utilizam DNA ambiental (eDNA) para detetar a presença de tartarugas marinhas em amostras de águas costeiras e em água recolhida de tanques experimentais no aquário do Porto Pim.

O eDNA consiste em material genético libertado naturalmente no ambiente através de células da pele, muco e outros vestígios biológicos. Ao filtrar amostras de água e analisar o DNA extraído, conseguimos identificar a presença de espécies de forma não invasiva. 🧬

Este trabalho contribui para melhorar a monitorização e conservação das tartarugas marinhas nos Açores.

Este estudo faz parte dos projetos LIFE IP Azores Natura (Tartarugas Marinhas) e STARS – Sea Turtle Monitoring, Assessment and Research towards Sustainable Management in the Azores (2025.07578.AZO).

Um agradecimento especial à equipa Flying Sharks pela preciosa ajuda na logística das experiências. 🙌

🇬🇧 How can we detect sea turtles without even seeing them? 🌊🐢

We are testing different methodologies (active and passive) using environmental DNA (eDNA) to detect sea turtle presence in coastal water samples and in water collected from experimental tanks at the Porto Pim aquarium.

eDNA consists of genetic material naturally released into the environment through skin cells, mucus, and other biological traces. By filtering water samples and analysing the extracted DNA, we can identify species presence in a non-invasive way. 🧬

This work contributes to improving sea turtle monitoring and conservation in the Azores.

This study is part of the LIFE IP Azores Natura (Sea Turtles) and STARS – Sea Turtle Monitoring, Assessment and Research towards Sustainable Management in the Azores (2025.07578.AZO) projects.

A special thank you to the Flying Sharks team for their help with the logistics of the experiments. 🙌

06/05/2026

🇬🇧 𝐀𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐛𝐢𝐨𝐭𝐚 - As part of the newly funded project “STARS - Sea Turtle monitoring, Assessment and Research towards Sustainable management in the Azores (2025.07578.AZO)”, our group will assist in monitoring plastic ingestion. To support this effort, we have initiated a pilot study to develop a method for collecting and analysing faecal samples from live turtles to detect plastics. The STARS is a COSTA project, led by Françoise Lima and Frederic Vandeperre.

𝐒𝐚𝐝𝐥𝐲, 𝐚 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐟𝐞𝐰 𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐚𝐠𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐚𝐩𝐬𝐞. A big thank you to Ivan from Flying Sharks for collecting this important sample.

Collaboration between research teams and public and private partners is key to advancing science. We hope these images help raise awareness.

🇵🇹 𝐒𝐨𝐛𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐬 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐬 𝐝𝐨𝐬 𝐩𝐥𝐚́𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐨𝐬 𝐧𝐚 𝐛𝐢𝐨𝐭𝐚 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐡𝐚 - No âmbito do novo projeto financiado “STARS – Sea Turtle monitoring, Assessment and Research towards Sustainable management in the Azores (2025.07578.AZO)”, o nosso grupo irá colaborar na monitorização da ingestão de plástico. Para apoiar este trabalho, iniciámos um estudo piloto para desenvolver um método de recolha e análise de amostras fecais de tartarugas vivas, para detecção de plásticos. O projeto STARS é um projeto COSTA, liderado por Françoise Lima e Frederic Vandeperre.

𝐈𝐧𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞, 𝐮𝐦𝐚 𝐩𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐧𝐚 𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐮𝐠𝐚 𝐪𝐮𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐠𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚́ 𝐩𝐨𝐮𝐜𝐨𝐬 𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐬 𝐣𝐚 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐮 𝐯𝐚́𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐨𝐬 𝐝𝐞 𝐩𝐥𝐚́𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐨 𝐧𝐚 𝐬𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐞̂𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐚 𝐝𝐞 𝐮𝐦 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐚𝐩𝐬𝐨 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥. Um grande obrigado ao Ivan, da Flying Sharks, pela recolha desta amostra tão importante.

A colaboração entre equipas de investigação e parceiros públicos e privados é essencial para fazer avançar a ciência. Esperamos que estas imagens ajudem a sensibilizar para este problema.

10/04/2026

🇬🇧 New paper alert!! 📣📣

What exactly do sea turtles do during their 'lost years'? Until now, we only had glimpses of their journey in specific parts of the Atlantic, but this new study provides a wider picture of their movements.

For the first time, we joined forces with research teams across the Azores, Canary Islands, Madeira, and the USA to map the distribution of juvenile loggerhead turtles across the entire ocean basin by analyzing the tracking data of over 100 individuals.

🇵🇹 Alerta de novo artigo!! 📣📣

O que fazem exatamente as tartarugas marinhas durante os 'anos perdidos'? Até agora, só tínhamos vislumbres da sua viagem em partes específicas do Atlântico, mas este novo estudo oferece uma visão mais abrangente dos seus movimentos.

Pela primeira vez, unimos forças com equipas de investigação dos Açores, das Ilhas Canárias, da Madeira e dos EUA para mapear a distribuição das tartarugas-comuns juvenis em toda a bacia oceânica, com base na análise de dados de localização de mais de 100 indivíduos.

Link 🔗
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.baae.2025.12.004

10/04/2026

09/04/2026

During today’s field trip, our friends from the COSTA Project released a juvenile loggerhead sea turtle (𝘊𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘢 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘢) back into its natural habitat!

This individual was found stranded on the coast during the winter in poor health condition, a common risk for oceanic-stage juveniles exposed to cold stress, storms, and limited food availability. Following a couple of months of intensive care and rehabilitation, the turtle recovered well to be successfully returned to the wild.

Loggerhead sea turtles in the North Atlantic follow a remarkable life cycle. After hatching on nesting beaches in Florida and other parts of the western Atlantic, juveniles enter an oceanic phase, dispersing across the Atlantic basin via major current systems. The Azores region functions as an important developmental and foraging habitat, where individuals may remain for 10–15 years before returning to breeding areas in the western Atlantic.

The COSTA Project contributes to the conservation of sea turtles in the Azores and the wider North Atlantic through research, stranding response, environmental education, and support for evidence-based management. Their actions highlight the importance of long-term monitoring and rehabilitation. Find more about their work at https://costaproject.org/en/.

02/04/2026

Using a community-engaged research approach, surveys on Green sea turtle occurrence in the Azores Archipelago recorded 69 sightings around Faial Island and Pico Island. All were juveniles (10–79 cm), confirming the region as a transient foraging ground. https://bit.ly/esr01482