Atlantic Leatherback Sea Turtles May Get Endangered Status

Female leatherback turtle digging in the sand in USVI - via Wikimedia

Federal wildlife officials say they are reviewing the status of a sea turtle that lives in the northwestern Atlantic Ocean to see if it should be listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.

The National Marine Fisheries Service says it is conducting the review of the Northwest Atlantic population of leatherback sea turtles. The turtles live all over the world, including off of the mid-Atlantic states, New England and Canada.

Sea turtles spend almost their entire lives in the sea, and when active they often come to the surface to breathe, but can remain underwater for several hours at a time while resting.

Though most sea turtles inhabit warm, tropical and subtropical waters, they migrate northward as water temperatures increase in the late spring and summer and remain in northern waters until late fall. From late May until November, New Jersey's coastal waters provide important seasonal foraging habitat.

The leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea) gets its common name for its unique shell which is composed of a layer of thin, tough, rubbery skin, strengthened by thousands of tiny bone plates that makes it look “leathery.” The leatherback is the only sea turtle that lacks a hard shell.

Leatherback turtles are the world's largest sea turtles. They can weigh up to 2,000 pounds. They are also the deepest diving turtle with dives of more than 4,000 feet below sea level.

They range in size as adults from 4 to 6 feet (130 – 183 cm), but the largest leatherback ever recorded was almost 10 feet (305 cm) from the tip of its beak to the tip of its tail and weighed in at 2,019 pounds (916 kg). 660 to 1,100 pounds (300 – 500 kg) is typical.

Leatherbacks have delicate, scissor-like jaws that would be damaged by anything but soft-bodied animals. Surprisingly, they feed almost exclusively on jellyfish which are composed mostly of water and not a good source of nutrients. This penchant for jellyfish also makes them vulnerable to plastic bags and trash in oceans which resemble jellyfish in the water.

Leatherbacks are listed as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The fisheries service says it's collecting comments until Feb. 5 about whether the northwestern Atlantic's population should be included on the U.S. Endangered Species list.

More Info

• conserveturtles.org/information-about-sea-turtles-leatherback-sea-turtle
• nationalgeographic.com/animals/reptiles/l/leatherback-sea-turtle
• conservewildlifenj.org/species/fieldguide/view/Dermochelys%20coriacea