Leatherback Sea Turtle Welfare: Plastic Bag Ingestion and Ocean Pollution

Leatherback sea turtles are specialist jellyfish predators that mistake floating plastic bags for prey, with ingestion causing intestinal blockage, starvation, and death at a time when the species faces severe population decline.

Key Facts

Leatherback sea turtles are the world's largest reptiles and among the longest-migrating animals
They are classified as Vulnerable globally but some populations are Critically Endangered
Leatherbacks cannot distinguish plastic bags from jellyfish prey, with over 90% of examined stomach contents containing plastic in some studies
Unlike other sea turtles, leatherbacks have a soft shell and cannot be tagged with traditional devices, complicating monitoring

Welfare Considerations

Leatherbacks with plastic intestinal blockages experience progressive starvation as plastic fills their digestive tract without providing nutrition while blocking passage of real food. Plastic impaction causes pain, gas accumulation, and organ compression over weeks before death. Buoyancy disorders from gas-filled digestive tracts prevent diving, leaving affected turtles at the surface where they are struck by vessels. Entanglement in abandoned fishing gear causes drowning or flipper amputation injuries requiring long-term rehabilitation. Rescue of oceanic leatherbacks is extremely difficult given their pelagic habitat.

What You Can Do

Support single-use plastic bag bans and plastic reduction legislation to protect marine wildlife
Participate in beach and coastal clean-up events to reduce plastic entering marine environments
Donate to Leatherback Trust research and nesting beach protection programmes in the Caribbean and Pacific
Raise awareness that floating plastic bags are lethal to leatherback sea turtles and other marine wildlife