Primary nesting habitats of the Eastern Pacific leatherback turtle population are in Mexico and Costa Rica, with some isolated nesting in Panama and Nicaragua. The Pacific leatherback turtle populations are most at-risk for extinction as evidenced by ongoing precipitous declines in nesting through their range. Leatherback nesting in Malaysia has essentially disappeared, declining from about 10,000 nests in 1953 to only one or two nests per year since 2003. It is estimated that the global population has declined 40 percent over the past three generations. The leatherback sea turtle is listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. We engage our partners as we develop regulations and recovery plans that foster the conservation and recovery of leatherbacks and their habitats, and we fund research, monitoring, and conservation projects to implement priorities outlined in recovery plans. We use a variety of innovative techniques to study, protect, and recover this endangered species. NOAA Fisheries and our partners are dedicated to conserving and recovering leatherback turtle populations worldwide. Through this initiative, NOAA Fisheries has made it a priority to focus recovery efforts on stabilizing and recovering Pacific leatherback populations in order to prevent their extinction. Pacific leatherbacks are one of nine ESA-listed species identified in NOAA’s Species in the Spotlight initiative. The Pacific leatherback turtle populations are most at-risk of extinction. The greatest of these threats worldwide are incidental capture in fishing gear (bycatch), hunting of turtles, and collection of eggs for human consumption. They face threats on both nesting beaches and in the marine environment. Once prevalent in every ocean except the Arctic and Antarctic, the leatherback population is rapidly declining in many parts of the world. The leatherback turtle has the widest global distribution of any reptile, with nesting mainly on tropical or subtropical beaches. They are also accomplished divers with the deepest recorded dive reaching nearly 4,000 feet-deeper than most marine mammals. Leatherbacks are highly migratory, some swimming over 10,000 miles a year between nesting and foraging grounds. They are named for their tough rubbery skin and have existed in their current form since the age of the dinosaurs. They are the only species of sea turtle that lack scales and a hard shell. The leatherback's flexible shell allows it to dive to great depth to feast on its favorite prey - jellyfish and salps.The leatherback sea turtle is the largest turtle in the world.Loggerhead sea turtles, named for their relatively large heads, have powerful jaws for cracking hard-shelled prey like whelks and conchs.An adult hawksbill sea turtle eats an average of 1,200 pounds of sponges a year.Sea turtles' natural lifespan is estimated to be 50-100 years.Few survive to adulthood, with estimates ranging from one in 1,000 to one in 10,000. Once in the water, hatchlings are consumed by seabirds and fish. On the beach, hatchlings must escape natural predators like birds, crabs, raccoons, and foxes to make it to the sea.Hawksbills build their nests faster than any other sea turtle species, typically completing the exacting process in less than 45 minutes.Loggerheads nest from April to September and generally build 3-5 nests per season, totaling 35 pounds of eggs.They often gather in a large group to come ashore and nest, which is called an arribada - Spanish for "arrival." The Kemp's Ridley is the only sea turtle that nests predominantly during daylight hours.When a female is ready to lay eggs, she returns to the nesting beach where she was born, even if she has not been there for 30 years! Some females nest every year until the age of 80. It takes 20-30 years for a sea turtle to reach sexual maturity.It grows from a two-inch hatchling weighing one-half pound to an adult size of 3 feet long and 300-350 lbs. The green is the largest hard-shelled sea turtle.Its shell (carapace) is strong and flexible, like leather - thus the name. The leatherback is the largest sea turtle species, weighing up to 2,000 pounds and measuring from 6-9 feet long.The flatback turtle is found only in Australia and Papua New Guinea. They are the green, hawksbill, Kemp's ridley, leatherback, loggerhead, and olive ridley. waters are protected by the Endangered Species Act. All six sea turtle species found in U.S.Sea turtles are ancient species, having been around since the time of the dinosaurs - about 110 million years.
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