Highest Number of Leatherback Sea Turtle Hatchlings in 20 Years Recorded on Thai Beaches

Conservationists in Thailand have found the largest number of leatherback sea turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) nesting on their beaches in two decades, Reuters has reported.

Leatherback sea turtles are the largest of the seven sea turtle species, reaching up to 2.4 m in length and 900 kg in weight. They are currently endangered in Thailand and are listed as Vulnerable worldwide on the IUCN Redlist. Like other turtle species, they must come ashore to lay their eggs and will usually do so in dark, quiet areas where they are less likely to be disturbed by humans. As a result, tourism can have a negative impact on the turtles' ability to reproduce.

But beaches in Thailand are now free of tourists due to the current COVID-19 pandemic. As of writing, Thailand has had 2,989 confirmed positive cases and 55 deaths, resulting in a ban on international flights and citizens being encouraged to stay at home. While incredibly unfortunate, this has allowed leatherback sea turtles to nest in areas they would normally avoid, particularly due to the absence of tourists.

Leatherback sea turtle nesting in the sand

Authorities have found 11 nests on Thai beaches since November. This may not sound like much but it is the highest number recorded since the early 2000s. And it gets better. In late March, staff at a national park in Phang-Nga, a province in southern Thailand which borders the Andaman Sea, recorded 84 leatherback sea turtle hatchlings after monitoring eggs for two months.

Kongkiat Kittiwatanawong, the director of the Phuket Marine Biological Centre, explained why this new development is so important:

"This is a very good sign for us because many areas for spawning have been destroyed by humans. If we compare to the year before, we didn't have this many spawn, because turtles have a high risk of getting killed by fishing gear and humans disturbing the beach."

For the last five years, there had been no nests found at all on Thai beaches, so this year's numbers are a significant improvement. While the circumstances that brought about this change are truly awful, it has certainly highlighted the impact that human activity can have on the wildlife around us.