London, UK – New research tracking the migrations of leatherback turtles after leaving their nesting grounds in French Guiana shows that they must travel almost twice as far as groups previously observed to reach feeding grounds. This indicates their behaviour is modifying to adapt to rapidly rising ocean temperatures and changing currents, both caused by climate change.<\/p>\n\n
The extra energy expended to find feeding\ngrounds is likely to reduce the number of eggs they lay each season, reducing\nthe size of the population further. The number of eggs laid by sea turtles on\nbeaches in French Guiana is approximately 100 times smaller now than it was in\nthe 1990s with fewer than 200 nests per season now, compared to 50,000 in the\n1990s.<\/p>\n\n
Will McCallum of Greenpeace\u2019s Protect the Oceans campaign, said:
\u201cSea turtles survived the extinction of the dinosaurs, but they might not survive us. Human activity has put such severe pressure on sea turtle populations around the world that six out of the seven species of sea turtle are threatened with extinction, and without urgent action the situation will only get worse.<\/p>\n\n
\u201cThe death of one out of the ten turtles we\ntracked just 120km from her nesting ground after being caught in a discarded\nfishing net is a stark and tangible reminder of the damage being caused to the\noceans by humans. We must protect our oceans with a network of sanctuaries\nwhere turtles and other animals are safe to breed, grow old and feed. To do\nthis we need a strong new Global Ocean Treaty to be agreed at the United\nNations this year.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
The researchers, led by Damien Chevallier,\ntagged ten nesting female turtles on the Yalimapo and Remire-Montjoly beaches\nin French Guiana to track their subsequent migrations through the North\nAtlantic, some swimming as far as Canada and France to find feeding grounds.\nEach of these turtles was given a name. One of them, Frida, was found dead on a\nbeach in Suriname just 120km from her starting point. She had become caught in\na gill net, which caused her to drown.[2]<\/p>\n\n
Leatherback turtles migrate north after nesting\nto reach cooler waters where jellyfish, their prey, are more abundant. As the\noceans warm and currents change, sea turtles are being forced to travel greater\ndistances to find these abundant hunting grounds. <\/p>\n\n
To protect sea turtles, and all forms of marine\nlife, Greenpeace is campaigning for a strong new Global Ocean Treaty, which\nwould pave the way for a global network of Fully Protected Marine Sanctuaries\ncovering 30% of the world\u2019s oceans by 2030. This would give sea turtles, all\nother forms of marine life, and the oceans themselves, the space they need to\nrecover from harmful human activity.<\/p>\n\n
Ends<\/p>\n\n
Photo and video: <\/strong>a gallery of images showing turtles under threat is available here<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n The research has been released in a new\nGreenpeace report Turtles Under Threat: Why the world\u2019s ultimate ocean\nwanderers need protection. <\/em>A copy of the report is available on request<\/p>\n\n Notes:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n [1] The report, Turtles Under Threat: Why the\nworld\u2019s ultimate ocean wanderers need protection,<\/em> was written by Greenpeace\nInternational in collaboration with Damien Chevallier and other scientists from\nthe Institut Plurisciplinaire Hubert Curien (IPHC) of Centre National de la\nRecherche Scientifique (CNRS) <\/em>who conducted the tracking research as part\nof Greenpeace Pole to Pole expedition in June 2019.<\/p>\n\n [2] Images and video of Frida are available on\nrequest<\/p>\n\n [3] Will McCallum is Head of Oceans at\nGreenpeace UK<\/p>\n\n Contact:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n James Hanson, Press Officer, Greenpeace UK: +44\n7801 212 994, james.hanson@greenpeace.org<\/a><\/p>\n\n