Turtle Tagging Cruise R/V JANE YARN conducted a cruise to Gray's Reef June 8-10, 1999, to tag loggerhead sea turtles. The main objective of this cruise was to capture and attach a satellite transmitter on a male loggerhead sea turtle and to assess loggerhead population within Gray's Reef boundaries. The secondary objective was for Gray's Reef divers to be trained in Underwater Photography techniques by PADI instructor Karen Angle. Although no male loggerheads were observed, a juvenile loggerhead was captured and tagged with reflector tags so divers would be able to identify different turtles under water without bringing them to the surface. Kevin Palmer from Georgia Southern University took blood samples and ultrasound to determine the sex and maturity of the juvenile turtle. An inconel tag (numbered NMFS tag) was also placed on the right flipper numbered PPD335. Since the Reflectors were attached on the loggerhead's carapace, we have had few reports from divers that have recognized this individual and were even able to read the inconel tag number. Turtle PPD335 has remained in the same area all summer long. Before water temperatures change, we plan on capturing her again and attaching a satellite transmitter on her back to determine whether this juvenile loggerhead will move to warmer waters in the winter or remain at Gray's Reef year round. The photography course was a success and all participants got experience in Standard and Macro underwater photography. A picture and video of a loggerhead were also shot!   E-mail received from one of the observers: "Hello, my name is Michelle Perry, I was diving at Gray's Reef Saturday, August 14, I got the wonderful opportunity to see one of your tagged turtles. I was wondering if I could find out which turtle it was that I saw, the turtle had three transmitters and a tag on it's right side, the tag # was ppg 335 or ppd 335, I could not recall whether the last letter was g or d. This was a great experience for me, so I wanted to find out more information on this turtle. Thank you for your help and the exceptional effort that you put forth to conserve our oceans natural resources."   Gray's Reef Sustainable Seas Expeditions From July 26 - August 6, 1999, Sustainable Seas Expeditions (SSE) gave researchers an extraordinary opportunity to study Gray's Reef and deeper continental shelf Sapelo Scarp Reef in a the one-person submersible, the DeepWorker2000. This year marked the beginning of a SSE, a systematic exploration of the deep waters of America's National Marine Sanctuary System, including Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary located 17.5 nautical miles east of Sapelo Island, Georgia. SSE is a five-year program of the National Geographic Society in partnership with NOAA/National Marine Sanctuaries Division and is made possible by the Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund. To learn more about the expedition at Gray's Reef, view the mission logs which have been archived at: http://sustainableseas.noaa.gov/ Flower Gardens Banks Sustainable Seas Expedition Alex Score, then Gray's Reef staff member, was at Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary from September 1- September 8, 1999, assisting with SCUBA diving operations and National Geographic film crew during the SSE event and open house off the Texas coast. The National Geographic film crew was filming the amazing event that happens every year during 8-10 days after the last full moon in August. The spawning events observed included among others the largest coral, the mountainous star coral (Montastraea faveolata), the boulder brain corals (Colpophyllia natans), and the symmetrical brain coral (Diplora strigosa). To learn more about the Flower Gardens SSE mission and other National Marine Sanctuaries go to: http://sustainableseas.noaa.gov/