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	Maximum Length: 70-100 cm Breeding: Oviparous Nesting mean size: 87 cm Clutch mean size: 112 eggs Time to reach maturity: 30+ years (more than double that of humans) Habitat: Tropical, sub-tropical and temperate waters worldwide.
North Pacific Loggerhead Turtle The migrations of juvenile loggerhead turtles can last up to two decades and span the entire Pacific Basin. Hatchlings of the endangered North Pacific loggerhead population leave their Japanese nesting beaches and forage pelagically as juveniles, some reaching the Pacific coast of Mexico. At maturity, loggerhead turtles return to Japanese beaches to reproduce.
Adelita This was a loggerhead turtle released by fishermen and scientists from Santa Rosalia, BCS on August 10, 1996. Adelita was a mature, 223 pound KG, loggerhead female; the first one to be tracked in her trans-pacific journey back to her nesting beach by a satellite transmitter. Adelita accomplished her 8,000 miles (12,000 km) journey in 368 days.
Status The Pacific loggerhead turtle is among the most endangered large marine vertebrates, with fewer than a few thousand nesting annually. Annual censuses on Japanese beaches indicated a 50% decline in the number of nesting loggerhead turtles between 1990 and 2002. As a result identifying and mitigating their sources of mortality may be essential for the Pacific loggerhead to survive. Área de Alto Uso de Tortugas Amarillas en Baja California Sur In the northeast Pacific Ocean, loggerhead turtles are found primarily along the 1,000 mile Pacific coast of the Baja California peninsula (BCP), and research conducted by Proyecto Caguama and partners has shown that juvenile loggerheads aggregate at extraordinarily high densities in the unusually rich waters of Baja California Sur, feeding their way to maturity for several decades. This loggerhead hotspot offers an unusual conservation opportunity: unlike with many endangered highly migratory animals, a large proportion of loggerhead can be protected in a very small area .
	Diet In the open Pacific Ocean, loggerhead turtles feed opportunistically on epipelagic prey including crabs and jellyfish. But these prey occur in ephemeral patches, and loggerheads have to cover much ocean to get their fill. Alternatively, the nutrient-rich waters of the Baja California peninsula produce massive plankton blooms which in turn fuel vast swarms of pelagic red crabs. Bright red with large paired claws and a crawfish tail, pelagic red crabs resemble cooked Maine lobsters in miniature. They measure just four centimeters on average and turn the blue pacific a striking red with their dense swarms, attracting whales, sharks, rays, tuna, albatross, and sea turtles. The red crabs’ reliably high abundance along the Baja California Peninsula explains the loggerhead hotspot: thousands of loggerhead turtles grow their way to maturity on the red crabs unique to the waters of the baja California peninsula.
Threats Like all marine turtles, loggerheads face an array of natural threats including predation and disease. But human related threats have driven their decline. As with sea turtles wordwide, destruction of nesting habitat in Japan due to burgeoning seaside development is a major threat. Accidental capture and mortality of turtles due to fishing (bycatch) is the leading threat to loggerheads. Bycatch occurs in all fisheries, ranging from industrial scale offshore operations to nearshore artisanal fisheries. Where intense local fishing overlaps with the juvenile loggerhead foraging hotspot at Baja California Sur, loggerhead turtles are bycaught frequently, resulting in one of the greatest known threats to their persistence.
Reproduction and nesting Loggerhead turtles spend most of their life feeding off Baja California Sur waters. When they reach sexual maturity (approx. 87 cm of lenght), they migrate back to Japan to reproduce. Mating commonly occurs in the coastal waters of the nesting beaches. After mating, loggerhead turtles will come out at night to nest. This species lays around 112 eggs per nest and the incubation time of these eggs can vary from 50 to 80 days, depending on the certain characteristics of the nesting beach (temperature, humidity and gas exchange).