Huge leatherback turtle found dead off Ireland

15/12/2006 00:00:00 July 2007. Scientists at University College Cork (UCC) believe that a large Leatherback turtle, found dead in the sea off Ballycotton, died when the turtle mistook a plastic bag for a jellyfish. UCC Marine Scientists, Dr Tom Doyle and Luke Harmon are conducting research into the largest leatherback ever found in Irish waters. The turtle was found floating dead one mile off Ballycotton by local skipper, Peter Manning. The Central Fishereries Office was alerted who in turn contacted Marine Biologist, Dr Tom Doyle of the Coastal Marine Resources Centre (CMRC) and Zoologist, Luke Harmon of UCC’s Department of Zoology, Ecology & Plant Science.

Weighed a tonne
With the help of Peter Manning and the Ballycotton lifeboat crew, the scientists carried out a necropsy (post mortem on animals). Dr Doyle explained: ‘She measured 2.5 m from tip of flipper to tip of flipper while her shell was 1.68 m long. She weighed at least a tonne. Unfortunately, we found a large piece of plastic in her gut which possibly caused her death. Leatherback turtles very easily mistake plastic bags for floating jellyfish.’

To Ireland from Brazil
Leatherback sea turtles are the largest sea turtle in the world. They come to Irish waters every year to feed on the abundant supply of jellyfish. Last year, Dr Doyle, funded by the National Parks & Wildlife Service and the Marine Institute, tagged a male leatherback (shell length 1.66 m) from Dingle and tracked his journey all the way from Dingle to Brazil. He was returning to mate with some females off the coast of French Guiana. Off Cape Verde he performed the deepest dive ever recorded by a sea turtle, diving to 1280 m, as deep as Ben Nevis is high!

The scientists, while expressing their sadness at finding this turtle, have taken samples for analysis and will, hopefully, determine where she originally came from and much about her unusual biology.

Please visit www.turtle.ie for more information about leatherback turtles.