Rivers to Oceans Week

By April Overall
June 9, 2010

Canada boasts the longest coastline in the world. But can you imagine how expansive 243,793 kilometres really is? Let’s put it in perspective. Imagine 731,379 Eiffel Towers. Or 2,437,930 city blocks. Or 2,681,723 football fields. Pretty impressive, isn’t it? Our waters are home to hundreds of species – from amphibians to birds to fish. But our waters are in trouble. Pollution, dams and diversions, climate change, oil exploration and drilling, over exploitation, aquatic-habitat destruction, invasive species and shoreline development are all threats to the health of this precious resource. As the threats escalate, the health of the wildlife that relies on this resource is jeopardized.

Rivers to Oceans Week, which falls between June 8 and 14, prompts Canadians to become stewards of Canada’s water – from groundwater to lakes to oceans. For Rivers to Oceans Week 2010, the Canadian Wildlife Federation is highlighting one of the 97 species that are currently listed as being at risk in Canada. In 1970, the leatherback seaturtle was listed as endangered and in the last 30 years it has declined by more than 60 per cent.  And it’s no wonder. The species is up against mighty odds from the get go.

Hatching Hurdles
Leatherback seaturtles are incredibly loyal to their roots. When nesting season arrives, they return, without fail, to the nesting beach where they were born. Upon finding a nesting spot, a tricky task considering that beach development is on the rise, the female will lay between 50 and 166 eggs. During a 65-day incubation followed by a mad dash for the ocean, the eggs and hatchlings are threatened by a number of predators including dogs, vultures, skunks, seagulls, raccoons, lizards, opossums, jaguars, ants and humans.

Food for Thought
Jellyfish are the mainstay of the leatherback seaturtle’s diet; every July and August, leatherbacks travel hundreds of kilometres to forage in Atlantic Canadian waters. They can usually be found just off the coast of Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and the northern Gulf of St. Lawrence, and they have been spotted in the Bay of Fundy as well. While chowing down on jellyfish, it’s easy for leatherbacks to mistake the plastics dumped in the ocean for another gelatinous snack. In the last 40 years, over a third of the leatherback seaturtles examined had ingested plastic.

On the Move
Leatherback seaturtles migrate farther than any other reptile on Earth. En route to nesting and feeding grounds, they can travel across entire ocean basins, including the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. On that journey, leatherbacks face a number of challenges including pollution, poachers and natural predation. However, coming into contact with fishing gear remains the primary threat to these reptiles. Between 3.8 and 5 million baited hooks are set every day in the world’s oceans, and leatherbacks often get caught when they swim too close to fishing lines and attempt to eat the bait.

The Canadian Wildlife Federation’s Endangered Species Program recently gave $16,000 to the Canadian Sea Turtle Network to determine the risk that commercial fishing gear poses to leatherback seaturtles in Nova Scotia waters. To date, the Network has the largest collection of leatherback seaturtle data in Canada. This research will be fundamental to conserving the turtles that travel from 12 different countries to feed in northern Atlantic waters. You can help the leatherback seaturtle and other species at risk by donating today!