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501 Search For Adelita, Japan

31 images Created 14 Mar 2011

Our Thoughts and prayers are with the people of Sendai and all of those affected by the recent earthquake and tsunami this past year in Japan.

In July of 1999, J. Nichols, Dana Nichols and David Barron traveled to Japan, visiting Yakushima Island where 1/3 of all Japanese loggerhead sea turtles nest. Complimenting the existing research & story of the 'Loggerhead Transpacific Journey', we documented the nesting loggerhead turtles.
After Yakushima, we headed north east to Sendai looking for the place where Adelita, the first satellite tracked loggerhead turtle from Baja to Japan, came to shore. It was long believed by J. Nichols that Adelita was picked up by a fishing boat (most likely a squid boat) roughly 200 miles off the Japanese coast and brought to port near Sendia. Using a GPS and with the aide of local authorities, we journeyed along the coast until we found the exact position of landfall. After one large fishing port, and one smaller more likely location, we ended up at a third fishing port at Isohama, where we found exactly what J. Nichols had suspected. Roughly 10 Squid boats rested, on this rainy day, at port. This is were Adelita was brought.

The reason for the Japan trip was a result of research by J. Nichols and his colleagues Antonio Resendiz and Jeff Seminoff. They had proven that the newly hatched loggerhead turtles of Japan make their way across the pacific to Baja where they feed until maturity and then return to Japan in a ~ 10 month journey to nest. The journey back to Japan has been documented using satellite tags attached to loggerhead turtles, which has resulted in real time tracking of the loggerhead transpacific journey. The first of these turtles was 'Rosita and Adelita'.

School age children tracked the loggerheads journey using their computers in the classrooms. The course was plotted from the information sent to the satellites from the satellite tags on the turtles back as it made its journey.
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  • Dana & J. Nichols Researching Trip To Sendai Using Lonely Planet Guide On Train
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  • Dana & J. Nichols Eating Lunch on Train
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  • Dana & J. Nichols Eating Lunch on Train
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  • J. & Dana Nichols Walking Through Rice Field Using GPS
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  • Planted Fields
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  • Planted Fields
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  • Planted Fields
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  • J. Nichols Ready For Some Sugar!
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  • J. Nichols Checking GPS and Drinking Milk!
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  • Funny Sign - "Go back to your behind"
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  • J. & Dana Nichols Planning Route to Find Location Of Adelita Landfall
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  • J. Nichols Checking GPS At Train Station
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  • Shrimp Boat At Hamahata
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  • Shrimp Boats At Hamahata
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  • Shrimp Boats At Hamahata
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  • J. & Dana Nichols with David Barron in road mirror
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  • Turtle Sign
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  • J. Nichols With GPS & Turtle Sign
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  • J. Nichols with 2nd mate who gave us his ships gps coordinates
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  • Shrimp Boat At Hamahata
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  • J. Nichols Checking GPS At Hamahata
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  • J. & Dana Nichols with Hamahata Port officials looking over map
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  • J. Nichols Checking GPS At Hamahata
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  • Shrimp Boat At Hamahata
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  • Shrimp Boats At Hamahata
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  • Shrimp Boats At Hamahata
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  • J. Nichols with Isohama Port officials where Adelita arrived on shrimp boat
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  • David, Dana & J. Nichols Having Dinner With Owners Of 400 Year Old Natural Hot Springs Hotel
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  • Shrimp Boats At Isohama Port
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  • Shrimp Boats At Isohama Port
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  • Map Of Loggerhead Sea Turtle Transpacific Journey
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