Turtle travels

Sunday, June 8 is World Oceans Day and we’re going to look at California’s state sea reptile as well as other turtles in our waters.

One or more of the seven species of sea turtles can be found in every ocean. Six species are threatened or endangered. Four can be seen off California including the largest, the leatherback. Sea turtles face a variety of hazards. Major threats in the United States include damage and changes to nesting and foraging habitats, accidental capture during fishing, entanglement in marine debris and collisions with vessels.

Turtles in our waters

The Pacific leatherback sea turtle became the state marine reptile in 2012. It is the largest turtle and one of the largest living reptiles. This species has a soft, leathery shell, whereas most turtles have a hard shell. They typically surface to breathe every five minutes but can stay underwater for 85 minutes and dive 4,000 feet.

They have become one of the world’s most endangered animals. Worldwide education and conservation efforts are underway to save them. Sea turtles’ natural lifespan is estimated to be 50-100 years.

Sea turtle diet

Loggerheads are carnivores, only occasionally consuming plant material. Juveniles and adults in coastal waters eat mostly bottom-dwelling invertebrates such as mollusks and crabs. Their powerful jaws are designed to crush their prey.

Hawksbill turtles use their sharp beak to reach into holes and crevices in coral reefs to find their preferred food source — sponges.Leatherbacks have spiny papillae lining their mouth and esophagus. These spines help them trap and consume their main prey, jellyfish.

Green sea turtles are the only type that is primarily herbivores, eating mostly seagrasses and algae. This diet is what gives their cartilage and fat a greenish color (not their shells), which is where their name comes from.

Declining numbers

The leatherback turtle has the widest global distribution of any reptile, nesting mainly on tropical or subtropical beaches. It faces threats on both nesting beaches and in the marine environment.

The greatest of these are incidental capture in fishing gear, hunting, and collection of eggs for human consumption.

The Pacific leatherback populations are most at risk of extinction. Pacific leatherbacks are one of nine identified in NOAA’s Species in the Spotlight initiative.

The global population has declined an estimated 40% over the past three generations. Leatherback nesting in Malaysia has essentially disappeared, declining from about 10,000 nests in 1953 to less than one or two nests per year since 2003.

Sea turtle conservation

NOAA Fisheries and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have shared jurisdiction for recovery and conservation of threatened and endangered sea turtles. NOAA leads the conservation and recovery of turtles at sea, while Fish and Wildlife has the lead on nesting beaches.

You can learn more to help at fisheries.noaa.gov

If you see one

Please do not attempt to interact with or capture turtles. Report the following information to swfsc.turtle-sightings@noaa.gov

• Date

• Latitude and longitude (or approximate location)

• Approximate shell length

• Behavior and condition (swimming, lethargic, responsive, etc.)

• Photos (if possible)

Learn more about what you can do to help at the NOAA website here.

Sources: NOAA Fisheries, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, California State Museum Photos from NOAA Fisheries