Leatherback turtles close to the brink
The leatherback turtle has survived for more than a hundred million years, but some populations are now facing imminent extinction. Worldwide it's estimated there are only 34,000 adult females alive today. In the Pacific it's a dire situation with as few as 2,300 adult females now remaining, making the Pacific leatherback the world's most endangered marine turtle population.
What's threatening these ancient mariners with extinction?
Leatherback turtle strangled and drowned by marine debris. Victoria, Australia
© James Stevenson
Hundreds of thousands of marine turtles die each year, accidentally caught in hooks, lines and nets of fishing equipment, including trawl nets, gill nets, and on longline hooks. Some 50,000 juvenile, adult male and female leatherback turtles are caught globally each year in longline fisheries alone. Known as bycatch, this incidental capture is perhaps the greatest threat to some marine turtle populations.
Bycatch is largely responsible for the dramatic decline in leatherback turtles in the Eastern Pacific Ocean over the past 20 years.
Leatherback turtles face many threats on their nesting beaches including uncontrolled coastal development, vehicle traffic on beaches, and other human activities that have directly destroyed or disturbed marine turtle nesting beaches and near-shore feeding grounds.
Why are these marine turtles so important?
They have been reported to live to a grand old age of up to 150 years and they don't start breeding until 7-15 years of age. That makes protecting them absolutely crucial because they can't repopulate quickly enough to replace those that are dying from human related impacts.
The leatherback is the largest marine turtle species, typically reaching up to 180 centimetres in length and weighing 500 kilograms. The heaviest ever recorded weighed 910 kilograms - that's the weight of a Volkswagen Beetle car! They are the deepest diving reptile, able to dive to depths of 1,200 metres and more. They specialise in eating jellyfish, and grow faster than any other reptile in the world.
Leatherback turtles are one of the most migratory turtles and they make both trans-Atlantic and trans-Pacific crossings. They're important culturally and biologically across the planet from as far as South America to the Solomon Islands, and form part of many complex marine and coastal ecosystems.
Pulling them back from the brink
Leatherback turtle hatching
© WWF-Canon/Roger LeGUEN
Today, six of the seven living species of marine turtle, including the leatherback, are classified as Endangered or Critically Endangered. Concerted conservation efforts have seen turtle populations recover in some areas but without urgent international action the future of these animals looks increasingly dire.
As an example of the steep decline, the once renowned population in Malaysia's Rantau Abang and Terengganu dropped from 10,000 nests per year in the 1950's to less than 20 in recent years.
In the Western and Central Pacific, WWF is promoting the adoption of critical conservation measures by governments and industry in the region. We are working on a package of solutions here and across the world to make the sea a much safer place for turtles.
A few of the activities WWF offices have initiated include:
- Promoting turtle-friendly fishing gear to the fishing industry, encouraging fishers to avoid critical areas of habitat during migration, and helping to educate them on the safe release of turtles when caught accidentally.
- Supporting studies of turtle bycatch in several fisheries, including in the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Italy, South Africa, Madagascar, and the Eastern Pacific from Mexico to Peru.
- Working to identify and protect the important nesting sites of Western leatherback turtles, including in Indonesian Papua, PNG and the Solomon Islands where the next generation of leatherbacks in the Western Pacific will be born.
- Producing the first-ever study to assess the economic value of marine turtles on a global scale. Comparing the revenue generated from killing turtles or collecting their eggs with that generated from tourism. The study shows that marine turtle tourism can generate in some instances almost three times as much money as the sale of turtle products.
Year of the turtle
The United Nations has declared 2006 the Year of the Turtle in an effort to save these gentle creatures. Twenty-five countries in the Indian Ocean's Southeast Asian (IOSEA) region, including the Philippines, have signed a memorandum of understanding dedicating 2006 to the protection of marine turtles.
Marine turtles are the only widely distributed marine reptiles and many species migrate for thousands of kilometres - and even across entire oceans - between feeding and nesting grounds. Regional cooperation is essential to ensure that turtles are protected at different stages of their life cycles.
A relentless effort to protect leatherbacks and all marine turtles by showing the true value of keeping these animals alive is the only thing that can bring these gentle giants back from the brink.
How you can help
If you live in the Darwin coastal region, call the WWF office on 08 8941 7554 to ask how you can help protect marine turtles by using the Net Kit: A Fishing Net Identification Guide for Northern Australia.
You may also consider supporting WWF's work on important environmental issues such as the protection of sea turtles by donating today.
