The leatherback turtle ranges further than any other reptile. Its migrations cover entire ocean basins. In 1965, Dr. Sherman Bleakney was the first scientist to describe the seasonal presence of leatherback turtles in Atlantic Canadian waters. After his groundbreaking paper on the subject, "Reports of marine turtles from New England and Eastern Canada," little work was done on the distribution of the leatherback in Atlantic Canada. Until 1998, there were only 73 extant records of leatherbacks in Atlantic Canada. 

In the summer of 1998, however, members of the LTWG collected 171 geo-referenced sightings of leatherback turtles in our waters. This research established the seasonal presence of leatherbacks in Atlantic Canada.

Studying the leatherback any place other than on tropical nesting beaches is difficult, as the animals spend the rest of their lives at sea (the males never return to land after they hatch). Therefore, the importance of commercial fishermen as research partners in the LTWG is clear. They spend much of their time on the ocean and are in the best position to observe marine turtles and to record related data. For the same reason, whale watch and tour boat operators were also invaluable in collecting this information. 

Tagging       Genetics