A sizeable population of leatherback sea turtles discovered in Gabon has the international media buzzing about the possibility of taking the majestic turtle off the endangered species list. A new study shows that 15,000 or more leatherback females are nesting on Gabon's beaches in west Africa.
What this actually tells us is that the Gabon turtles have been lucky, despite ongoing problems with egg poaching, illegal fishing, and habitat degradation. However, leatherback sea turtle populations in other areas of the world plummeted to ten percent of their original numbers throughout the 1980s and 90s. Leatherbacks have been the victims of coastal development, commercial fishing, and an illegal trade in turtle eggs.
It would be worse than irresponsible to delist the leatherback on the basis of a single, vulnerable population. Tell the IUCN not to delist the leatherback!
We the undersigned clearly understand your grave responsibility to list as endangered only those animals clearly in danger. However, even by the loosest standards of conservation, a thriving population of animals in one small corner of the globe does not constitute a complete recovery of that animal's populations--or anything close to it. Furthermore, we note that Gabon has by no means achieved control over the problems of illegal fishing and egg poaching that continue to threaten the fragile leatherback recovery on its beaches.
Until leatherback turtles have made a full recovery throughout their historic range, we ask that you keep this amazing reptile on the endangered species list.
