The UK is committed to the conservation of marine turtles nationally and internationally. Of the four species occasionally reported from UK waters, the leatherback turtle is the most common and regarded as a true member of the British fauna. The leatherback turtle is a wide-ranging species, migrating throughout the Atlantic; UK waters represent a small peripheral part of its summer foraging habitat.

The primary source of data for marine turtles in the UK is the ‘TURTLE’ database, including historical and current records of strandings and sightings by the public and fishermen. There are on average 33 records per year for leatherback turtles. Although globally this species is critically endangered, these data are too sparse to be able to assign a conservation status within UK waters or to interpret any trends.

To be effective, data collection must have a strong international component and be able to assess status at the level of the entire North-East Atlantic as this is the geographical scale most appropriate to this species. Progress in research through tagging, and genetic and by-catch studies is of highest priority to turtle conservation.

Entanglement in fishing gear and ingestion of plastic debris constitute a threat to marine turtles in UK waters. The overall effect of climate change on turtle numbers in UK waters is far from predictable; a rise in sea temperature might result in an expansion of the range at high latitudes, but the overall population size might be negatively impacted by a reduction in nesting habitat and biased sex ratios as sea level and air temperature rise at nesting sites in the tropics.