Wild Leatherback Sea Turtle Conservation: Protecting the Last Giant

The leatherback sea turtle faces multiple threats including bycatch, beach development, and ocean plastics that have decimated Pacific populations while Atlantic numbers show some recovery.

Key Facts

Leatherback sea turtles can weigh over 900 kg and dive to depths exceeding 1,000 meters
Pacific leatherback populations have declined by over 90% in 30 years - fewer than 2,300 nesting females remain
Atlantic leatherback populations have shown modest recovery, demonstrating conservation is possible
Bycatch in longline and gillnet fisheries kills tens of thousands of leatherbacks annually
Leatherbacks feed almost exclusively on jellyfish and frequently ingest plastic bags mistaken for prey
Artificial beach lighting disorients hatchlings, causing them to move inland rather than toward the ocean
Nesting beach protection in Costa Rica, Trinidad, and Gabon is critical for population recovery
Satellite tags have revealed the extraordinary transoceanic migrations of individual leatherbacks
Climate change warming beaches threatens sex ratio balance through temperature-dependent sex determination

Welfare Considerations

Leatherback sea turtles that die entangled in fishing gear experience prolonged distress - struggling against lines for hours or days before drowning. Females that invest months of energy migrating to nesting beaches and laying eggs that fail to hatch experience a reproductive futility driven by human activity. Hatchlings that spend their energy moving inland due to light pollution die before reaching the ocean. Each individual leatherback represents an extraordinary biological achievement - 30 or more years of ocean life and transoceanic migration - whose welfare deserves protection commensurate with that complexity.

What You Can Do

Support Sea Shepherd, Leatherback Trust, and WWF bycatch reduction programs
Eliminate single-use plastic bags that leatherbacks ingest as jellyfish prey
Advocate for sea turtle excluder devices in all trawl and longline fisheries globally
Turn off or shield coastal lights during leatherback nesting season
Choose seafood from fisheries with demonstrated bycatch reduction for sea turtles
Participate in beach monitoring programs that protect nests from predation and human disturbance