The greatest of these threats worldwide are incidental capture in fishing gear (bycatch), hunting of turtles, and collection of eggs for human consumption. They face threats on both nesting beaches and in the marine environment. Once prevalent in every ocean except the Arctic and Antarctic, the leatherback population is rapidly declining in many parts of the world. The leatherback turtle has the widest global distribution of any reptile, with nesting mainly on tropical or subtropical beaches. They are also accomplished divers with the deepest recorded dive reaching nearly 4,000 feet-deeper than most marine mammals. Leatherbacks are highly migratory, some swimming over 10,000 miles a year between nesting and foraging grounds. They are named for their tough rubbery skin and have existed in their current form since the age of the dinosaurs. They are the only species of sea turtle that lack scales and a hard shell. The leatherback sea turtle is the largest turtle in the world.
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