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Threats to critical sites and migratory pathways
Predation by pigs and dogs, as well as continued human harvest
of eggs and turtles, beach erosion, and low hatch success
remain significant impacts to the western Pacific stock. The
eastern Pacific stock, which used to host the worlds’ largest
leatherback nesting population, has declined by more than 90 per
cent over the past two decades due to unsustainable harvesting
of turtle eggs and fishery bycatch. It is estimated that thousands
of leatherbacks are hooked each year in fishery longlines and
gillnets, which can result in severe injuries or death. Urban
developments along the coast can also destroy and degrade
beaches that are used for nesting. Leatherbacks can also confuse
floating plastic bags and other debris with jellyfish, their main
diet. The potential for Pacific-basin wide leatherback extirpation
remains significant.
Opportunities for ecological networks
Whilst conservation efforts are underway on nesting beaches,
there are significant opportunities for enhanced regional and
international cooperation in the management of leatherbacks in
high-use areas and migratory corridors across the Pacific, including
within existing marine protected areas. Greater information on
fisheries bycatch is important for evaluating the relative effects
of different fisheries. Bycatch mortality can be reduced through
mandatory use of turtle-friendly fishing gear by foreign long line
vessels fishing in national waters. Continued tagging and tracking
studies of leatherbacks and other migratory marine species that
share similar high-seas habitats and common threats can play an
important role in informing the spatio-temporal management of
fisheries and coastal activities, and can inform the design of time-
area closures during certain periods of the year.
The leatherback turtle is a long-distance migratory sea turtle, travelling between tropical breeding grounds and
multiple pelagic and coastal foraging regions located in temperate and tropical waters. There are effectively
two breeding stocks in the Pacific: a western Pacific stock that nests in Indonesia (Papua Barat), Papua New
Guinea, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu; and an eastern Pacific stock that nests in Mexico, Costa Rica, and
Nicaragua. A third stock that nested on beaches in Terengganu, Malaysia appears to have been nearly extirpated
within the past decade. The western Pacific stock harbours the last remaining significant nesting aggregations
in the Pacific with an estimated 2,700–4,500 breeding females. Pacific leatherback turtles are endangered
throughout their range.
Leatherback turtle
(
Dermochelys coriacea
)
CMS STATUS
CMS INSTRUMENT(S)
Appendix I & II
MoU on on the Conservation and Management of Marine Turtles and their Habitats of the Indian Ocean and
South-East Asia; MoU concerning Conservation Measures for Marine Turtles of the Atlantic Coast of Africa