Overview

• Nurse Victoria Bradshaw filmed the leatherback turtle surfacing within 20 to 30 feet of her boat near Langara Island on July 14.
• The Department of Fisheries and Oceans confirms this is one of only 149 recorded leatherback appearances in British Columbia waters since 1931.
• Leatherback turtles are listed as endangered under Canada’s Species at Risk Act and represent fewer than five per cent of the Pacific population.
• These turtles migrate thousands of kilometres from tropical regions such as Indonesia to feed on jellyfish in B.C.’s cold coastal waters.
• Conservation groups are urging coastal communities to report future sightings and adopt measures to curb plastic pollution and reduce risks from fishing gear entanglement and vessel strikes.