Leatherback Sea Turtle Welfare: The Deepest Diving Reptile Under Threat

Leatherback sea turtles are the largest reptiles alive and can dive deeper than 1,000 metres. They are critically endangered, and their welfare is threatened by plastic ingestion, bycatch, and egg poaching.

Key Facts

Leatherback turtles can weigh over 900 kg — the largest living reptiles
They mistake floating plastic bags for jellyfish, their primary prey, with lethal consequences
Leatherbacks can regulate their body temperature, making them unique among reptiles
Atlantic leatherback populations have declined by over 95% since the 1980s
Bycatch in longlines, gillnets, and trawls causes significant mortality across their range

Welfare Considerations

Plastic ingestion in leatherbacks causes gut impaction that prevents digestion, leading to starvation despite continued feeding behaviour. The prolonged nature of this process — weeks or months of decline — represents significant welfare harm. Deep-set longline bycatch causes traumatic hooking injuries and drowning. Egg poaching at tropical nesting beaches removes entire reproductive cohorts. Combined, these pressures have reduced leatherback populations to critically low levels where each individual welfare harm also carries conservation significance.

What You Can Do

Eliminate single-use plastic bags from your household to reduce ocean plastic
Support sea turtle bycatch reduction programmes through Oceana and Turtle Island Restoration Network
Back legal protection for leatherback nesting beaches in the Caribbean and West Africa
Donate to organisations that monitor and protect leatherback nesting populations