Coonamessett Farm Foundation’s (CFF) mission is to conduct scientific research and educational projects that support sustainable fisheries operations, local small-scale agriculture and aquaculture, and renewable energy sources for the benefits of the public.
What Happens to Sea Turtles When a Major Storm Moves Through?
Tracking data offer a look at how loggerhead sea turtles respond to changing conditions at sea.
Recent weather gave us an interesting opportunity to watch CFF’s live turtle tracking data as tagged turtles moved through the Northwest Atlantic. It also brought to mind earlier research involving CFF that asked a similar question: what happens to sea turtles when a major storm moves through?
Published in Movement Ecology in 2020, “Riders on the storm: loggerhead sea turtles detect and respond to a major hurricane in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean” followed 18 satellite-tagged loggerhead sea turtles as Hurricane Irene passed through the Mid-Atlantic Bight in 2011.
Researchers observed changes in turtle movement and diving during and after the storm. Most turtles moved north during the…
October 14, 2026
CFF Researchers Participate in ICES Annual Science Conference 2026
Building partnerships for novel oceanographic and fisheries-dependent data.
October 8, 2026
Twelve Years of Cold-Stunned Sea Turtles on Cape Cod
New collaborative publication with NOAA Fisheries, Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary, and MA Division of Marine Fisheries
September 29, 2026
CFF Presents at the Fourth World Seabird Conference
Sharing results from Reducing Seabird Bycatch project
September 23, 2026
Our feature film, Sustaining Sea Scallops, is now available online! Watch the full documentary to learn how the collaborative research model embraced by CFF helped a flagging scallop fishing industry rebound.
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