Buster

2012 Massachusetts Leatherback Research

A project of Large Pelagics Research Center.

click map for full-size version Buster (Leatherback) is 6 km W of the coast of The Bahamas and 113 km from Nassau

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Species: Leatherback
Life Stage: Sub-Adult
Gender: Unknown
Release Date: 2012-08-02 15:15:00
Release Location: Nantucket Sound
Last Location: 2012-12-22 19:29:55

Adoptive Parents:
Ulrich Bösing
Lisa
Special agents
Kristi Mitchell
Shane Molander
Will Misciagna
NK
Caroline, Jack and Ian Kelley
Maria DiLeo

Background

We tagged "Buster" on 2 August, 2012, in eastern Nantucket Sound, Massachusetts, USA. We found Buster swimming in an area with an abundance of jellyfish and several other leatherbacks. Buster departed Nantucket Sound for Nantucket shoals shortly after tagging, and spent several months foraging on the southern New England shelf and just south of Long Island, NY. Buster then traveled slowly south along the US East coast, staying close to shore until reaching just south of Miami, Florida. Buster then moved through the Florida Straits and entered a shallow region west of the southern tip of Eleuthera island in the Bahamas. Buster remained in Eleuthera coastal waters until cessation of tag transmissions in late December. Scientists from the Cape Eleuthera Institute (CEI) report large numbers of moon jellyfish (Aurelia aurita) coincident with Buster's location, leading us to believe that Buster was foraging in this region.