When we first started studying leatherbacks in Canadian waters, the hypothesis was that if the turtles were here in any numbers at all (and—as funny as it seems now, at the time, that was a big if!), then they followed a particular corridor. From a conservation standpoint, following a corridor would have made our lives much easier. If the turtles use a narrow band of ocean, it is ostensibly simpler to protect their habitat.
But what our satellite tracking research has shown over the years is that turtles make broad use of the ocean, their track lines crisscrossing one another like noodles on a plate of spaghetti. The turtles we’re tracking this year are wonderful examples of what makes our work so interesting (and challenging). Each turtle is doing something different.
