SCUBA News (ISSN 1476-8011)
Issue 130 - February 2011
http://www.scubatravel.co.uk
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Welcome to SCUBA News. I hope you enjoy it but should you wish to cancel your subscription you can do so at http://wwww.scubatravel.co.uk/news.html SCUBA News is published by SCUBA Travel Ltd, the independent guide to diving around the world.Contents:
- What's new at SCUBA Travel?
- Creature of the Month: Leatherback Turtle
- Diving News from Around the World__________________________________________________________What's New at SCUBA Travel?
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Diving EgyptMore...____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Creature of the Month: Leatherback Turtle, Dermochelys coriacea
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The leatherback turtle is the world's largest reptile, growing up to 2 m long.
It is called a leatherback as it is the only sea turtle which lacks a hard shell. Instead it has a 4cm-thick leathery, oil-saturated carapace.
Female leatherbacks lay several times a year, but not always on the same beach. The babies hatch after around 2 months and make their characteristic charge for the moonlit sea.
Leatherbacks are the most migratory and wide ranging of all turtles. It has comparatively larger flippers than other turtles which help with its long migrations.
The leatherback turtle is critically endangered. Decline in nesting has been documented to be much greater than 80% in most of the populations of the Pacific, which has been considered the species' major stronghold. Analysis of estimates of global population sizes, suggest a reduction of over 70% for the global population of adult females in less than one generation.
The main threats to the turtles have been a prolonged harvest of eggs and the incidental capture in fisheries. In some areas the egg harvest and illegal poaching has removed more than 95% of the clutches, and this has been recognized as the main cause for the collapse in the Malaysia population.
Fishing activities using longline and driftnets are an important threat since juvenile and adult are captured in migratory routes. In some areas females are killed on the nesting beaches for oil extraction. Leatherback hunts, which have been stripped of their traditional customs and controls, are also a serious threats.
Oceanic pollution, basically by plastics is another cause of mortality.
Further Reading:
IUCN Red List
Why leatherback turtles linger in South Pacific
Diving News From Around the World
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Scuba Challenge Launched Double punch threatens Great Barrier Reef Why the touch of an egg sparks squid fight club Why leatherback turtles linger in South Pacific 
2011 is the year of the Turtle Death of Young Right Whale Highlights that Prevention of Entanglements is Key Robotic Fish could Monitor Corals How Life on the Surface affects Life on the Seafloor __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________
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