The results of SEASTAR2000 and related projects in ASEAN countries

Abstract

The Southeast Asia sea turtle associative research (SEASTAR2000) was started in 1999 by the request of the Thai government. The research focused on tracking sea turtles using the Argos system. The results of the research clarified migratory paths of adult female green turtles after their nesting. In order to measure fine scale turtle behaviors, the project included development of new devices including a magnetic field sensor accelerometer tag (MR tag), a GPS-Argos platform terminal transmitter (GPS-Argos PTT) and a visual data storage tag (CCD tag). Based on the successful results of the SEASTAR2000, the Thai government requested us to investigate migration behavior for the Mekong giant catfish as well as sea turtles. The Mekong giant catfish is endemic to the Mekong River but an endangered species now. Mekong giant catfish tracking project (MCTP) was started in 2002. The project was performed using coded ultrasonic transmitters in Mekong River.