Bruno was a loggerhead sea turtle tracked via TTAG satellite tag (Globalstar modem ID 0-2375125). Analysis of his full sensor record — GPS positions, water temperature, depth, and IMU accelerometer/gyroscope — provides strong evidence of accidental capture by a fishing vessel around 10–11 May 2025.

• Last free GPS fix: 9 May 2025 · 40.756 °N, 18.289 °E (south of Brindisi, Adriatic)
• Depth anomaly: stored sensor records on 10–11 May show depths of 57–110–188 m — far beyond any normal loggerhead dive in the central Adriatic (typical max ~40 m). This is consistent with a bottom-trawl net being hauled up from depth.
• IMU flatline: two samples show acceleration magnitude ≈ 0.22 g with angular rate ≈ 0.01 °/s (effectively zero) — the tag was completely motionless, consistent with incapacitation or death inside a net.
• Impact spike: one sample shows acceleration = 2.04 g — approximately twice gravity — consistent with the net hitting the deck when hauled aboard.
• Cold-storage temperature: the GPS fix assigned to 18 May 2025 records SST = 2.4 °C, while all surrounding fixes show 19–21 °C (normal for the season). This temperature is consistent with a refrigerated fish hold or cold-storage facility aboard the vessel.
• Vessel trajectory: two fixes on 18 May 2025 remain stationary at ~39.74 °N, 18.55 °E (the fishing grounds). The tag then goes silent for 37 days.
• Final position: 25 June 2025 · 41.248 °N, 19.413 °E — Durrës harbour, Albania. The fishing vessel returned to its home port.

Bruno is the only tag in the dataset showing this complete bycatch signature. His data have been preserved in full in the portal and are available for reporting to fisheries authorities.

Caretta A has been actively tracked in the Taranto Gulf area since November 2025, with a dense, consistent GPS track and sea-surface temperatures following the expected seasonal progression (13–14 °C in late winter, rising through spring). Two single-point temperature readings deviate sharply from this background:

• 28 March 2026: SST = 1.25 °C at 40.733 °N, 17.767 °E — surrounded by readings of 13–14 °C the day before and after.
• 2 April 2026: SST = 5.75 °C at 40.746 °N, 17.761 °E — again isolated, with 13–14 °C on either side.

Unlike Bruno's cold-storage signature (which lasted across multiple consecutive fixes and was accompanied by deep-dive and IMU anomalies), these are isolated single-point spikes within an otherwise continuous, geographically stable track. The turtle remained in the same area and resumed normal behaviour immediately after. The most probable explanations are a momentary sensor artefact or brief contact with a cold water mass during a deeper dive into the thermocline — not indicative of capture or cold storage.

A 17-day gap (18 May → 5 June 2026) — the most recent data — is also flagged for monitoring, though gaps of this duration are within the normal range of Argos/Kinéis transmission variability.

Caretta F transmitted regularly from August 2024 and was last heard on 2 February 2025 at 40.401 °N, 18.343 °E (Lecce shelf, southern Adriatic), before falling silent for 142 days. Transmissions resumed on 24 June 2025 in the same general area, with SST = 25.5 °C — consistent with early summer.

• The central and southern Adriatic regularly cools below 12 °C in January–March, approaching the threshold for cold stunning in loggerheads (Caretta caretta).
• When water temperatures drop below approximately 10 °C, loggerheads enter a state of reduced metabolic activity and can remain motionless on the seafloor for weeks to months — a phenomenon known as cold-water dormancy or cold stunning.
• While dormant, turtles surface infrequently and may not reliably activate the Argos/Kinéis transmitter. A 4–5 month silence through the coldest months is therefore biologically plausible and consistent with documented behaviour in the Mediterranean.
• The turtle returned to essentially the same location after the gap, with normal temperatures and subsequent active movement — strongly supporting natural dormancy rather than capture.

Tag 253653 shows two extended periods of silence during its deployment:

• Oct 12, 2023 → Mar 16, 2024 (156 days): classic autumn-to-spring gap. Last fix near 40.736 °N, 17.766 °E; resumed in the same area. Consistent with cold-water dormancy through the Adriatic winter.
• Aug 3 → Nov 13, 2024 (102 days): a summer–autumn gap, less typical for cold-stunning. The turtle may have moved into deeper or more offshore waters with reduced satellite overpasses, or reduced surface time during summer foraging. Positions before and after the gap are geographically coherent (40.86 °N, 17.42 °E → 40.90 °N, 17.38 °E), suggesting normal movement rather than vessel transport.

Neither gap is accompanied by anomalous temperature, depth, or IMU readings (no IMU available for this tag). On balance, both gaps are attributed to natural behaviour changes rather than bycatch, but the summer gap warrants attention if the pattern repeats.