78 
Gilbert S. Grant and Danny Ferrell 
discussions with fishermen on the pier helped document the tempo- 
ral pattern of leatherbacks in the area. Salty’s Pier extends 250 m 
from the beach. 
RESULTS 
G.S.G. saw leatherbacks from Salty’s Pier on 19 May 1990 
(0740 hours), 13 May 1991 (1600 hours), and another larger indi- 
vidual on 13 May 1991 (1638-1640 hours). D.F. witnessed leather- 
backs nearly daily while he was employed at the pier from May to 
mid-June 1991. The largest leatherback was estimated to be about 
2-m long. Pier fishermen reported seeing these turtles several times 
a day on some occasions; the turtles passed within 10 m of the 
end of the pier. Water depth where most sightings occurred was 
about 4 m, and ocean surface temperatures recorded daily at North 
Topsail Beach during May and early June 1990 ranged from 16 to 
24C. 
Sightings of leatherback turtles seemed to correspond with 
cabbagehead or cannonball jellyfish ( Stomolophus meleagris). These 
jellyfish were so abundant at Salty’s Pier during May and early 
June 1990 and 1991 that 50-200 could be seen daily. These jelly- 
fish were about 20 cm in diameter, moved vertically in the water 
column, and most remained in close proximity to the pier. D.F. 
observed leatherbacks eating several cabbagehead jellyfish in May 
and June 1991 off Salty’s Pier. 
C. Rader (pier employee, personal communication) reported 
watching a leatherback about 1.7-m long ingest 50-80 cabbageheads 
in spring 1991 at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. From his fishing 
pier vantage point, Rader was able to observe feeding behavior at 
close range. He reported that just before ingesting a jellyfish, the 
turtle appeared to blow out air and water through its nose and 
mouth before consuming the entire jellyfish. No jellyfish or leather- 
backs were seen or reported by fishermen after mid-June 1991. 
D. F. and other fishermen saw three to four cobia close to 
leatherbacks each time a turtle swam by the pier. The cobia ranged 
in size from 0.6 to 1.3 m and typically maintained positions either 
slightly above or below the swimming turtle. 
Two stranded leatherback turtles on North Topsail Beach were 
examined and measured during the May to mid-June 1990 and 1991 
observation period. One decomposing turtle without obvious external 
injuries washed up at Salty’s Pier on 16 May 1990. It was about 
150-cm long. The second decomposing turtle washed up 5 km south 
of Salty’s Pier on 24 May 1991. It measured 162 cm (curved cara- 
pace length) by 90 cm (curved carapace width). Both were docu- 
