As the expedition continues, Tavano and Laron returned to Nassau early Monday morning after 41 turtles. The next intern Raguel Nesbitt then arrived into Marsh Harbour safely from Grand Bahama to carry on the activities done all week. Raguel is a graduate of St. Georges High School who longed for an opportunity such as this. He is a participant in The Bahamas Environmental Steward Scholars (BESS) program that is managed by BREEF and work at UNEXSO Dolphin Experience on the weekends. He said ” From I can remember I have always had a passion for the marine life! I was told by my parents that as a toddler when my father returned with his catch of the day they would have to leave the freezer open so that I can gaze at these creatures. During this expedition I hope to learn to appreciate sea turtles and the studies researchers preform to collect data on these amazing creatures.”
The Bahamas National Trust, Abaco Park Warden Marcus Davis assisted the research team in tagging 1 Hawksbill and 3 Green turtles in the Sandy Point area. Following this, the team took a 3-hour sail from Sandy Point to Moores Island and tagged 4 turtles over their stay in Moores Island. They engaged both commercial and subsistence fishers and had a wonderful Lunch & Learn presentation and demonstration with primary students from The Moores Island All aged.
Raguel with such enthusiasm said “The expedition is going great! It has exceeded my expectations… the education aspect of this expedition has started up something- I am now thinking of educating others as a career.”
