Leatherback sea turtles are the largest living turtle and have survived for 100 million years — but face threats from plastic ingestion (confused with jellyfish prey), bycatch, and climate change threatening nesting beaches.
Leatherbacks that ingest plastic bags experience progressive gastrointestinal obstruction — the plastic blocks digestion and the sensation of fullness prevents the turtle from eating actual food, leading to starvation despite continued feeding attempts. This is a slow death involving ongoing hunger and reduced energy as the obstruction accumulates. Bycatch in longline fisheries causes drowning or severe hook injuries. The warming of nesting beaches affects the viability of eggs and the sex ratios of hatchlings in ways that threaten population sustainability. Each piece of plastic that reaches the ocean is a potential welfare threat to leatherbacks and other marine species that mistake it for prey. Plastic pollution reduction is one of the most direct consumer-influenceable interventions for leatherback welfare.