Leatherback Sea Turtle

Names and classification

Scientific name

Dermochelys coriacea

Common names

Leatherback Sea Turtle

Kauaʻi occurrence and status

Kauaʻi occurrence

Present

Origin

Indigenous

Conservation status

Endangered

Evidence limits

Main Hawaiian Islands occurrence is documented, but Kauaʻi-specific encounter frequency is low and not well quantified.

Habitat and ecology

Habitats

Offshore/pelagic waters; rare around the Main Hawaiian Islands including Kauaʻi waters.

Food and resource needs

Gelatinous zooplankton, especially jellyfish and related prey.

Reproduction

No Kauaʻi nesting documented in current source set; nesting occurs outside Hawaiʻi.

Shelter

Marine resting/refuge areas; nesting-beach structure where applicable.

Threats and conservation

Threats

Fisheries bycatch, marine debris/plastics, vessel strikes and climate change.

Conservation actions

Protect habitat, reduce fisheries/debris/disturbance risk, comply with protected-species rules, and monitor occurrence and reproductive activity.

Monitoring

Maintain coastal/offshore occurrence records and protect precise sensitive nesting-site data; improve Kauaʻi-specific abundance/use estimates.

Data gaps

Kauaʻi-specific abundance, movement, and use are incompletely resolved at public-safe spatial precision.

Process and seasonal context

Seasonal timing

Year-round presence varies by species; nesting is seasonal where documented.

Seasonal description

Leatherback Sea Turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) is an indigenous sea turtle documented throughout the Main Hawaiian Islands and is a rare offshore visitor around Kauaʻi.

Sources and further reading

• NOAA NCCOS / BOEM — Marine Biogeographic Assessment of the Main Hawaiian Islands — Sea Turtles
• Hawaiʻi DLNR DAR — Sea Turtles