Ending Overfishing from The Black Fish on Vimeo.

The Leatherback Trust

Fighting ocean acidification to restore marine species and protect coastal communities.

The Problem

Leatherback turtles have evolved to survive in particular habitats, and each turtle plays a part in keeping marine ecosystems healthy. Moreover, as a “keystone species,” sea turtles help to sustain the health, productivity and biodiversity of marine ecosystems.Yet Leatherbacks and other sea turtle species are at risk of extinction due to coastal development, fishing, plastic pollution, poaching, and the effects of climate change. With the spread of human development around the globe, sea turtle numbers have dropped to 0.1 percent of their ancient levels.

The Solution

The Costa Rica-based Leatherback Trust works to protect leatherback turtles and other imperiled sea turtle species from extinction through research, habitat protection, education and advocacy. They develop integrated conservation strategies that include raising awareness and providing scientific data to inform sound policies to protect turtles by reducing threats in all of the habitats turtles occupy at the various stages of their life cycle.