Malaysia: Varsity's tiny tags to save sea turtles

Satiman Jamin New Straits Times 4 Jul 11;

KUALA TERENGGANU: Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT) has embarked on a research programme to tag turtles with radio frequency identification (RFID) transponders to help monitor the endangered creatures.

About the size of a rice grain, the passive identification transponder (PIT) tag offers researchers a tagging method that is permanent and unobtrusive.

UMT's Sea Turtle Research Unit head Associate Professor Dr Juanita Joseph said the two-year research programme began last year at the Chagar Hutang turtle sanctuary in Pulau Redang.


She said the endangered green turtle (Chelonia mydas), and the critically endangered hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata), were chosen as the research subjects.

"These are the species that frequent the Chagar Hutang beach to nest each year.

"We had tagged them using metal and plastic flipper tags since we began operating there in 1993," she said, adding that the data collected through the conventional tags can be compared with the PIT tag data.


Juanita said missing tags was one of the biggest problems faced by researchers in their effort to collect accurate data on the turtles behaviour, nesting cycle and migration pattern.

"The metal or plastic tags tend to get dislodged from the flipper as the turtle travels thousands of miles across the ocean."

She said researchers normally resort to double tagging but it is not a clear-cut solution.


"We estimate flipper tag loss at around 50 percent and it means that the probability of us losing our data on a tagged turtle is also as high."

As the problem lies with information gathering, UMT's Information Technology Centre offered a solution through the use of cutting-edge PIT tags.

Although it has been used by turtle researches in more developed countries, PIT tags have a huge disadvantage over the metal tag -- it costs around RM30 a piece, compared with the RM1 for metal tags.

However, UMT overcame the problem when it signed a memorandum of understanding with Sensetech last year for the supply of affordable PIT tags and scanners.

UTM's ITC director Associate Professor Dr Mohd Pouzi Hamzah said the project got off the ground with the signing of the MOU.

"Researchers can now tag a turtle simply by injecting a PIT tag under its skin and it will stay there permanently, away from seawater, currents and other disturbances during the turtle's transoceanic journey."

A syringe with an oversized needle is used for the tagging process.

After the needle penetrates the turtle's skin, the PIT tag in the needle will be pushed and deposited without much hassle.

He said the microchip in the PIT tag stores the identification information which can be retrieved by a handheld scanner unit.

"The scanner will emit a radio signal which will be echoed by the PIT tag. The echo signal contains all the information stored in the PIT."

Juanita said the glass-encased PIT tag posed no danger to the turtle and would have virtually no potential to be damaged by the elements at sea.

"It offers the possibility of retaining a tag on a turtle for decades, which is not possible with external tags."

She said the technology would also enable the sharing of information with other researchers worldwide.

"If they have the scanner, they can read the PIT tag that we inserted here in Malaysia although they are thousands of miles away."

Juanita is hopeful that the research will help to shed light on turtles' behaviour which will help conservation efforts.

"We had barely scratched the surface as far as turtle conservation effort goes and the additional information gleaned by the use of PIT tags will help us understand them better."