Okinawa Turtle Archive: An archive project documenting sea turtle identification and behavior through drone footage.

Motivated by the question of how many sea turtles inhabit nearby coastal waters, we explored methods by which non-specialists could observe sea turtles at sea. We examined the feasibility of using drones for survey and observation. In March 2025, we started conducting surveys on sea turtles using a DJI Air 3 drone in the coastal waters of Maeda, Onna Village, where drone flights are not prohibited. Surveys were conducted approximately once per week. The drone was flown offshore and captured footage from an altitude of 100 meters using a 24 mm wide-angle lens. Upon detecting sea turtles, the drone descended to an altitude of 10 meters to obtain detailed footage using a 70 mm lens. From the drone footage, we extracted still images of clearly visible carapace patterns and performed visual individual identification. For each identified individual, we recorded scientific name, identification traits, and sex. By October 2025, we had identified 202 individual sea turtles, confirming that the data can be structured as biological occurrence records with precise temporal and spatial information. These findings demonstrate that drone-based observation is a viable method for collecting quantitative data on sea turtles at sea. We propose to disseminate this methodology and establish a collaborative network to enable similar surveys in other regions and seasons.