We conduct controlled experiments at the St. Lucie Nuclear Power Plant to understand how sea turtles interact with fishing gear and bycatch reduction technologies. Due to the large number of sea turtles entrapped in the power plant’s intake canal, this one-of-a-kind study site allows us to conduct controlled bycatch experiments with wild sea turtles in experimental tanks. By gaining a detailed understanding of sea turtle behavior in relation to fishery hazards and deterrents, our experimental approach allows us to optimize bycatch reduction technologies that can then be tested in fisheries.
Representative publications:
- Behavioral responses of sea turtles to gillnet fishing gear (In revision)
- Revealing sea turtle behavior in relation to fishing gear using color-coded spatiotemporal motion patterns with deep neural networks