Leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) COSEWIC assessment and status report: chapter 10
EXISTING PROTECTION
The leatherback is globally endangered (Groombridge, 1982) and endangered in Canada (Cook, 1981). It has been listed as critically endangered by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES). Canada is a signatory country of this convention, as are many of the countries that host nesting or migratory populations of leatherbacks. However, the leatherback is afforded varying degrees of protection by CITES, as it is not listed as Appendix I (banned in international commerce) by all participating countries. For example, while the leatherback is listed as Appendix I by Suriname, Great Britain has listed the species in Appendix II. While CITES exists as a tool for regulating international trade in wildlife, unfortunately, it has no legally-binding provisions that impact directly on harvesting or harming endangered species within a country. The Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) has some provisions that address the harvest of endangered species, however Canada is not currently a party to this convention.
As the leatherback is a migratory marine reptile that does not breed in Canada, historically it has not fallen clearly within the jurisdictions of federal or provincial wildlife agencies. Recent progress in tabling the federal Species at Risk Act (SARA, also known as Bill C-33) has resulted in the identification of marine turtles as a management responsibility of Fisheries and Oceans Canada. Once passed, SARA will prohibit the killing, harming, harassing, capturing or taking of endangered species, and destruction of their critical habitat. However, because Canada has yet to pass this legislation, the leatherback receives protection in Canada under provincial endangered species acts. As a result, only Nova Scotia and New Brunswick currently afford the leatherback legal protection.
During their long migrations, leatherbacks pass through the waters, and fishing zones, of many nations. Conservation measures for this species are in place in only a portion of these areas. Critical leatherback nesting beaches have been protected as national parks and reserves in several areas (e.g., St. Croix, USVI; KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa; Tortuguero, Costa Rica) and these sites are patrolled to discourage poaching of nesting females and their eggs. Unfortunately, law enforcement efforts on most nesting beaches have been unsuccessful in deterring poaching (NMFS, 1992; Troeng, 1998). Turtle Excluder Devices, designed to prevent sea turtles from drowning in shrimp trawls, have been mandated for use in several countries (including the U.S.A.) (Crowder et al., 1995); however, the narrow diameters of these devices frequently preclude the release of trapped leatherbacks (Dalton, 2000).
In several countries (e.g. Malaysia, Costa Rica, Guyana), the eggs of the leatherback are considered a delicacy and, for some, an aphrodisiac (Lutcavage et al., 1997). While egg collection on nesting beaches has been identified as a cause of leatherback decline, nesting females are not harvested in great numbers. This may be due to the fact that the oil-saturated flesh of the leatherback is generally considered unpalatable and perhaps even poisonous (after feeding on jellyfish, the flesh of Dermochelys may store nematocyst toxins) (Ernst et al., 1994). Despite these observations, a few traditional leatherback fisheries do exist. For example, in the Kai Islands, Indonesia, leatherbacks are regularly hunted for ritual purposes and for sustenance (Suarez & Starbird, 1996).
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