Passive Integrated Transponder tags, or "PIT tags," are small microchips (about the size of a grain of rice) that are injected into a turtle's shoulder muscle using a hand-held applicator gun. The PIT tags we use are similar to the tags that some veterinarians use to permanently identify your family's dog or cat.

Researchers use hand-held scanners to detect PIT tags in turtles. The scanner reads the tag's electromagnetic code and displays the tag's number. Scanning turtles for PIT tags allows us to identify turtles that have been previously tagged on nesting beaches.

PIT tagging a leatherback turtle on a nesting beach

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