If you or your NGO is looking to start a new or replace your current database for sea turtle data, then please check out this initiative.

Earlier I introduced the wish at Osa Conservation’s sea turtle program for some solution to unify data entry by volunteers during and/or after their beach patrols. In part 6, I will look at Sea Turtle DB, which was launched in May 2020.

Sea Turtle DB

“This global database serves as a repository for sea turtle tag records and a platform to further sea turtle research, conservation, and management.”

seaturtledb.com

According to the website and the FAQs, this is a database where anyone affiliated to organizations doing sea turtle research can become a ‘member’, i.e. a registered user of the database. One can upload data and share it with selected other users, or make public as far as one wants. Registration is for free.

In the previous paragraph, I put member between quotes, because as far as I can tell the database is not run by an association. The database is run by a company called Biomark. Biomark, which according to its website is a specialist company in identification solutions for animals. A quick browsing reveals that they make RFID based tagging solutions. These tags can be used on sea turtles as well.

The database focuses on data related to the tag and the sea turtle, according to the FAQs of the website. This means that data about nests, hatching, hatchlings, predation and what more, possibly will not find a place in this database. Also, I wonder if the database is useful if one is not using RFID tags but flipper tags ( metal tags with a unique code that are attached to the turtles’ flippers).

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The series of posts to which this post belongs is also published as one page.