December 21, 2020 — The number of leatherback turtles that feed in Central California waters has declined by 80% during the last two decades, according to new research out of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Moss Landing Marine Laboratories.
“They’re at risk of extinction in the Pacific Ocean,” said Scott Benson, lead study author and marine ecologist with NOAA.
Benson and his coauthors tracked Pacific leatherback turtles using video cameras, satellite and aerial survey data from 1990 through 2017.