Turtle Foundation — Indonesia (2019)

A leatherback turtle is released in Indonesia after being fitted with a satellite tag. ©Turtle Foundation

After visiting a beach on the west coast of Pulau Sipura in the Mentawai Islands and discovering the remains of slaughtered leatherback turtles and poached nests, the Turtle Foundation decided to take action. Little is known about the Northeast Indian Ocean subpopulation of leatherbacks, which is listed as Data Deficient by the IUCN Red List. With help from a 2019 SWOT grant, the Turtle Foundation aims to address this data gap by satellite tracking female leatherbacks that nest on Pulau Sipura. By following the turtles’ movements, the project aims to learn valuable information about migratory routes and about inter- and post-nesting behavior that will be used to develop more efficient conservation strategies.