Leatherback Sea Turtle Conservation in the Philippines
2025 - Present
The leatherback sea turtle, Dermochelys coriacea, feeds extensively in Philippine waters and nests on several of the nation's beaches. However, the extent and exact locations of the key habitats most vital to the species in Philippine waters are still poorly understood. To effectively protect this endangered species, we must understand where conservation action will be most effective and where it is most desperately needed. To that end, we are embarking on a program of documenting and mapping leatherback turtle bycatch, sightings, strandings, nests, and foraging activity across the Philippines.
Missing Metapopulations
The Western Pacific population of leatherback sea turtles is composed of multiple metapopulations, basically subgroups of the population that feed in and move through different distinct regions of the Pacific Ocean. Since the mid 2000s, the scientific community has been aware that a large Western Pacific metapopulation relies heavily on the territorial waters of the Philippines as foraging habitat, as do the remnants of the near-extinct Malaysian nesting population. Reports of nesting, bycatch, and stranding within the archipelago also seem to be increasing in frequency. In spite of all of this, no dedicated leatherback research has been conducted in the Philippines since 2016, and the species status and threats here are poorly defined. As the overall Western Pacific population decreases at an estimated rate of 6% per year, immediate research and conservation action is necessary to ensure the continued survival of this critically endangered population.
Why Focus on Identifying Critical Habitat?
One of the greatest challenges in conservation is prioritization. There are never sufficient resources to protect everything everywhere all the time. As such, resources and protections must be prioritized to where they will be most effective. For leatherbacks in the Philippines, this means identifying the habitats that they most frequently utilize for feeding, nesting, and migrating. By identifying habitats of conservation significance and developing a better understanding of when leatherbacks are likely to utilize them, we aim to establish a framework that will inform future management and conservation of the species within the Philippines.
How We Study Leatherbacks in the Philippines
Mapping and Data Analysis
All reported leatherback sightings, bycatch events, nesting events, and stranding events will be catalogued, mapped, and examined. Sea conditions in known foraging hotspots and beach conditions at known nesting sites will be cross referenced and analyzed to develop models for predicting habitat suitability. This analysis will help us to better understand how this species moves, feeds, and nests within the Philippines, and guide where we focus our efforts .
Nesting Beach Surveys
Leatherback nesting throughout the Philippines is poorly understood. Beaches throughout the Philippines will be examined for suitability as nesting habitat by means of remote sensing and on site surveys. Areas with confirmed nesting events will be monitored for repeated nesting. Encountered turtles will be measured, tagged, and sampled in accordance with permits. Satellite tags will be applied where possible, and nests will be monitored and protected.
Aerial Foraging Surveys
Foraging habitats will be studied by means of aerial surveys to document numbers, movement, and habitat use. This research will facilitate future at-sea satellite tagging efforts in accordance with permits. Only nesting females have ever been satellite tracked in this region, meaning that the movement patterns of males, non-nesting females, and juveniles are still unknown. At-sea tagging will allow us to study these previously unrepresented individuals.
The following video from NOAA explains some of the challenges of leatherback turtle conservation and demonstrates several of the techniques that we plan to use in our own research efforts.
Funding Allocation Breakdown
* The percentages depicted here are rough forecast estimates of how funding will be allocated to this project and should not be taken as final definitive numbers. They do, however, actively depict both the relative importance and relative cost of aerial survey efforts by comparison to all other efforts being undertaken.