"Pacific populations have declined over the last twenty years from overharvesting and interactions with fisheries. Atlantic leatherbacks, with their long migrations across the ocean, put them at great risk of running into longline fisheries. Leatherbacks feed almost exclusively on jellyfish, making them susceptible to mistakenly swallowing plastic bags floating in the ocean, which can kill them.

Egg collection on many turtle nesting beaches is a very serious threat, especially in Southeast Asia where a culture of legal egg collection leads to the removal of tens of thousands of eggs. This practice has contributed to the local extinction of leatherbacks in Malaysia. Within the last several decades extensive egg collection and the killing of adult turtles in Indonesia has resulted in huge population declines throughout the region. Despite protective legislation, many eggs produced each year in Central America are still collected for subsistence or commercial use. Hunting and egg collection persists throughout the Indian Ocean as well."

We want to help ensure the eggs have the opportunity to hatch, & that the babies make it to the ocean!