255 
National Marine 
Fisheries Service 
NOAA 
Fishery Bulletin 
@ established in 1881 «<= 
Spencer F. Baird 
First U.S. Commissioner 
of Fisheries and founder 
of Fishery Bulletin 
Abstract—Fisheries bycatch is pos- 
ited to be a leading cause of decline in 
abundance of Atlantic leatherback tur- 
tles (Dermochelys coriacea). However, 
although this species regularly inter- 
acts with fisheries across its range, 
movements and postrelease survival 
of leatherbacks remain largely unstud- 
ied. Such research is lacking because 
sampling opportunities are unpredict- 
able and logistically challenging. Here, 
movements of 4 leatherbacks equipped 
with satellite tags following inciden- 
tal capture in fixed-gear fisheries in 
Nova Scotia, Canada, are presented, 
alongside results from previous post- 
entanglement tracking of 15 leather- 
backs tagged throughout the Atlantic 
Ocean. Mean tracking duration after 
tagging was 232.58 d (standard devi- 
ation 165.61; sample size=19), com- 
parable with what has been reported 
for fishery-independent deployments 
of satellite tags on leatherbacks. This 
result indicates that, provided they are 
released carefully and completely from 
fishing gear, many leatherbacks survive 
entanglement events without apparent 
long-term effects. 
Manuscript submitted 16 February 2021. 
Manuscript accepted 20 September 2021. 
Fish. Bull. 119:255-260 (2021). 
Online publication date: 17 November 2021. 
doi: 10.7755/FB.119.4.5 
The views and opinions expressed or 
implied in this article are those of the 
author (or authors) and do not necessarily 
reflect the position of the National 
Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA. 
Postrelease movements of leatherback turtles 
(Dermochelys coriacea) following incidental 
capture in fishing gear in the Atlantic Ocean 
Emily P. Bond 
Michael C. James (contact author) 
Email address for contact author: mike.james@dfo-mpo.gc.ca 
Population Ecology Division 
Fisheries and Oceans Canada 
P.O. Box 1006 
Dartmouth, Nova Scotia B2Y 4A2, Canada 
It is challenging to quantify the effects 
of anthropogenic threats to marine spe- 
cies, especially for highly migratory ani- 
mals, such as marine mammals, sharks, 
and sea turtles (Lascelles et al., 2014). 
However, the use of electronic tagging 
technologies, including satellite telem- 
etry, can provide insight into bycatch 
risk (Witt et al., 2011; Kindt-Larsen 
et al., 2016) and has provided indirect 
(Henderson et al., 2020) and direct 
evidence for mortality associated with 
fishery interactions (Byrne et al., 2017; 
Benson et al., 2018). Application of 
satellite transmitters to incidentally 
caught sea turtles has also facilitated 
evaluation of postrelease mortality after 
fishery interactions (Chaloupka et al., 
2004; Swimmer et al., 2006; Snoddy and 
Williard, 2010). 
In the Atlantic Ocean, leatherback 
turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) inter- 
act with numerous fisheries and gear 
types (Wallace et al., 2010). The cap- 
ture of reproductive leatherbacks in 
artisanal gill nets is especially con- 
cerning for the Northwest Atlantic 
leatherback turtle subpopulation 
because of the high potential for mor- 
tality (Wallace et al., 2013; NMFS 
and USFWS, 2020). In Trinidad, 
where one of the largest nesting 
assemblages of leatherbacks is found, 
coastal gill-net fisheries are estimated 
to kill 1000 leatherbacks annually 
(Lee Lum, 2006). Although addi- 
tional studies are needed to quantify 
the extent of this risk and mortality 
rates in coastal waters near nesting 
beaches, bycatch in coastal gill-net 
fisheries has also been identified as 
a threat in French Guiana (TEWG, 
2007), Colombia (Patino-Martinez 
et al., 2008), and Brazil (Lewison and 
Crowder, 2007). 
Atlantic Canada, a region that includes 
the provinces of New Brunswick, Nova 
Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and 
Newfoundland and Labrador, is a pri- 
mary foraging area for leatherbacks 
in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean, 
where incidental capture in fixed- 
gear fisheries has been identified 
as a primary threat to this species 
(Hamelin et al., 2017). However, cap- 
ture rates, rates of mortality during 
capture, and postrelease mortality of 
leatherbacks in this area are not well 
understood. Here, satellite tracking 
data are presented for leatherbacks 
released following incidental entan- 
glement in fixed-gear fisheries in 
Atlantic Canada. Given the rarity of 
opportunities to satellite tag leather- 
backs entangled in fixed fishing gear, 
additional published satellite tracks 
