Conservation issues Recognition that they live here . People in the UK imagine turtles live elsewhere, but in fact leatherbacks are clearly a part of the fauna of the Celtic Sea, and we may even have an important summer concentration just off the edge of our continental shelf. An observer programme on such fisheries is needed. Marine debris needs control at source. Ingestion of plastic rubbish is a serious issue.
Much marine debris is known to come from ships.
Few Cornish fishing boats return plastic food packaging to shore. Oil Oil pollution undoubtedly impacts leatherback turtles. Its management is beyond the scope of this report. West African nest sites need to be identified The nesting sites of our leatherbacks are unknown. They may even be on the west coast of Africa, which has been little studied but has at least a few sites.