Leatherback Turtle (Dermochelys Coriacea)

The first recorded nesting of a Leatherback on the South Coast of Barbados was at Southern Palms Beach Club on March 7th 2000. The nest hatched on May 26th 2000.

Fact Sheet

Habitat: Typical nesting beaches have deep water approaches ( no fringing reef), heavy surf, and sometimes a steep slope to the beach platform.

Geographical Spread: A circumglobal species, nesting on beaches of tropical seas in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans, and foraging widely and regularity in temperate waters.

Size: By far the largest sea turtle,can grow to 8ft/2.4m in length.  The front flippers may span 2.5 metres.

Weight: Maximum 2000 lbs/909 kg.

Average Life Expectany: Potentially long-lived, but possibly less so than other marine turtles.

Normal Diet: Jellyfish and planktonic tunicates. Occasionally fish and other animals associated with jellyfish.

Current Threats: There is virtually no international trade in Leatherback parts or derivates. Adult Leatherbacks are not consumed by man as widely as some species since their oily flesh is generally considered unpalatable.  Harvesting of eggs, however, is said to be the major threat to the Leatherback populations.  It also appears that feeding Leatherbacks may often not differentiate between jellyfish and floating plastic debris; nearly 50 percent of non-breeding Leatherbacks examined had plastic (e.g. bags) or cellophane in the stomach.    This may contribute to mortality.

It has been pointed out that killing breeding female Leatherbacks is damaging on both economic and biological grounds.