The western pacific leatherback subpopulation has decreased by more than 78% and is declining by 6% each year

In the waters off the KEI islands, indonesia, leatherback sea turtles congregate to forage on large aggregations of jellyfish where eleven villages hunt and consume leatherback sea turtles. In 2017, WWF documented 104 leatherbacks taken in this hunt. This level of leatherback take exceeds traditional levels and likely contributes to the decline of their population. Over the last 5 years WWF has worked to develop a multi-layer strategy aimed at reducing the ongoing leatherback hunt that has resulted in: 1) the formation of a robust regional monitoring program, and 2) broad outreach efforts that have reduced leatherback take from a high of 104 in 2017 by an average of 85% in recent years. Continued collaborations with indonesian, governmental agencies, religious institutions, village councils and the KEI-kecil marine protected area provide a pathway to solidify these early conse