On November 29th, Paul Sutherland and an assortment of marine and
invertebrate biologists, turtle researchers, as well as skippers, dive
assistants and a cook made their initial boat trip up to Raine Island.
Once there, Sutherland's crew gathered data on what's referred to as the
green turtle's inter-nesting cycles, namely, what the endangered creatures
do after laying their 3-7 egg clutches on the nesting beaches on the
island.
They also tagged a single tiger shark from the region with a censor which
will be tracked over the long term in an attempt to better understand what
these predators do after they have made their annual migration to the
island.
Amidst all this, Sutherland has also been taking his Nikon D100 Digital
SLRs, SB-80DX Speedlight flashes, 80-400mm VR Zoom-Nikkor lens and other
Nikon equipment to help him document the local marine life on the reefs
surrounding the Island.
All photos © Paul Sutherland
| Turtles on rocks at low tide. |
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| A frigate Bird. |
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| On one of the last days of the first expedition, a Tiger Shark is tagged on her dorsal fin. |
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Paul Sutherland snaps a quick self-portrait while shooting underwater. |
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The Nikon D100 is amazing to use. I can get pictures like this one (of a Coral Grouper) at 100 feet underwater. |
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Green turtles return to the water soon after they nest. |
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5 turtles were tagged in an attempt to learn about their swimming and diving patterns. |
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A little turtle hatchling in action. |
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Sutherland's crew helped this turtle, which was stuck on its back, by placing it on its feet and returning it to the water. |
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