With the help of a handful of meticulous scientists, the critically endangered population of Eastern Pacific leatherback sea turtles may have just saved itself. And the key to its salvation—consistency. The 100 million-year-old species, known to grow to be over six feet in length, weigh close to two tons and make 4,000-foot dives, was the subject of a study released in the July 15 issue of Public Library of Science Biology. Scientists tracked via satellite the movements of 46 electronically tagged female leatherbacks between 2004 and 2007. As the study reveals, the leatherbacks have a penchant for a particular migratory route that begins on their nesting beach, Costa Rica’s La Playa Grande (consequently, the largest remaining viable nesting beach for this population.) From there, the turtles stick to a relatively specific corridor that takes them out past the Galapagos Islands and across the equator to their destination, the South Pacific Gyre. So how can this study save the leatherbacks? A shocking 90 percent of the Eastern Pacific leatherback population has disappeared within the last 20 years. While scientists attribute much of this sudden species decline to people relentlessly harvesting leatherbacks’ eggs on nesting beaches, out in the open ocean, leatherbacks often fall victim to the longline fishing hooks of commercial fisheries intended for big fish, like yellowfin tuna. The leatherbacks’ consistent and, therefore, predictable migratory movements revealed in this study may help conservationists in their negotiations with governments and commercial fisheries, to make a strong case to suspend fishing temporarily in certain areas, and thus allow leatherbacks safe passage along their migratory route.

In an interview with GT in early June, George Shillinger, a Stanford PhD candidate in the Tagging of Pacific Predators (TOPP) program and first author of the paper that introduced this study, warned against the impracticality of trying to transform the ocean into “one giant marine protected area.” Citing the ocean’s myriad stakeholders, from fishermen on up to governments whose economies depend on fisheries’ vitality, Shillinger characterized the future of conservation policy as that which would require the cooperation of many nations and be based on dynamic and proactive management models, driven by empirical data. “It’s better to come up with ways to use science to improve management,” says Shillinger. “If we can use the data to predict when turtles are most vulnerable, we can use creative methods—timed area closures or (fishing) gear modifications—to alleviate some of the pressure.”

The picture of George Shillinger is credited to Stacy Kubis. 

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