Even more about Leatherback Turtles

Here's a great site about all 7 species of marine turtles.

And here's the specific page for our local species, the leatherback.

Population Trends:
The Pacific Ocean leatherback population is generally smaller in size than that in the Atlantic Ocean. Because adult female leatherbacks frequently nest on different beaches, nesting population estimates and trends are especially difficult to monitor. In the Pacific, the World Conservation Union (IUCN) notes that most leatherback nesting populations have declined more than 80%. In other areas of the leatherback's range, observed declines in nesting populations are not as severe, and some population trends are increasing or stable. In the Atlantic, available information indicates that the largest leatherback nesting population occurs in French Guyana, but the trends are unclear. Some Caribbean nesting populations appear to be increasing, but these populations are very small when compared to those that nested in the Pacific less than 10 years ago. Nesting trends on U.S. beaches have been increasing in recent years.


Leatherback turtle hatchling (Dermochelys coriacea)
Photo: S.R. Livingstone, University of Glasgow

Info courtesy of: NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service