Leatherback Facts

posted in: January 2000 | 0

Leatherbacks (Dermochelys coriacea) are the largest species of sea turtles. Adults may weigh up to 1,600 pounds and attain a length of six feet. They can dive as deep as 3,300 feet. Their diet consists of jellyfish and related creatures. At least one scientist has speculated that an adult leatherback must eat at least its own weight in jellyfish in a day; growing youngsters may have to as much as twice their weight each day.

While most leatherbacks in the Pacific nest on the western coast of the Americas, in 1997 a female was seen to nest on a Lana’i beach. Alas, none of the eggs she laid hatched.

To protect the Pacific nesting populations of leatherbacks, the National Marine Fisheries Service has developed a five-year, $3 million program, $475,000 of which is supposed to be directed toward eliminating incidental take of leatherbacks by fishing vessels. That program is to start in the 2000 fiscal year, which began last October. In past years, the agency has supported leatherback protection efforts undertaken by the governments of Mexico and Costa Rica governments with direct grants of $10,000 (1996) to $75,000 (1999).

— Patricia Tummons

Volume 10, Number 7 January 2000

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