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Pacific leatherback turtles face extinction

Nature volume 405, pages 529–530 (2000)Cite this article

Fisheries can help avert the alarming decline in population of these ancient reptiles.

Abstract

The dwindling numbers of leatherback turtles are signalling a threat to biodiversity in the oceans. A mathematical model based on our assessment of a once-large leatherback population predicts that unsustainable adult mortality, apparently due to human fishing activity, will soon drive this population to extinction.

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Figure 1

DAVID ROSTAL

Figure 2: Number of leatherback turtles nesting on Playa Grande, Costa Rica, from 1988–89 to 2019–20.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Environmental Science, Engineering and Policy, Drexel University, Philadelphia, 19104, Pennsylvania, USA

    James R. Spotila, Richard D. Reina & Anthony C. Steyermark

  2. Center for Marine Conservation, Washington DC, 20036, USA

    Pamela T. Plotkin

  3. Department of Biology, Indiana-Purdue University, Fort Wayne, 46805, Indiana, USA

    Frank V. Paladino

Authors
  1. James R. Spotila
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  2. Richard D. Reina
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  3. Anthony C. Steyermark
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  4. Pamela T. Plotkin
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  5. Frank V. Paladino
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Correspondence to James R. Spotila.

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Spotila, J., Reina, R., Steyermark, A. et al. Pacific leatherback turtles face extinction. Nature 405, 529–530 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1038/35014729

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