A rare sighting of a leatherback sea turtle off the coast of Haida Gwaii has drawn attention from conservationists. Victoria Bradshaw, a nurse at a remote fishing lodge, encountered the giant turtle while fishing near Langara Island on July 14.

Bradshaw was out on the water with her coworker Aidan Horne when they noticed something unusual surfacing. "I instantly thought sea lion just because we see them quite often, and Aidan, who I was with, kind of announced, 'That's not a sea lion. That's the sea turtle,'" she recalled. The pair quickly shifted their focus, and Bradshaw captured the moment on her phone as the turtle lingered nearby.

She estimated the turtle's size to be between six and eight feet (1.8 to 2.5 meters). Initially unaware of the rarity of such sightings, Bradshaw remarked, "I didn't know it was an option for my bucket list, but apparently it was."

Leatherback sea turtles are the largest turtles in the world and are classified as critically endangered in Canada. The Department of Fisheries and Oceans reports only 149 unique sightings of sea turtles along the B.C. coast since 1931.

Jackie Hildering, a communications and education director for the Marine Education and Research Society, emphasized the significance of the sighting. "Leatherback sea turtles belong off the coast of British Columbia, but they are the rarest of the rare," she said. Hildering noted that these turtles are unique in their ability to adapt to cold waters, traveling thousands of kilometers from as far away as Indonesia to feed on jellyfish in B.C. waters.

"Amongst the astonishing adaptations of these living dinosaurs is that they can deal with a really broad range of temperatures," Hildering added.

Leatherbacks are protected under the Species at Risk Act in Canada, with only about five percent of the Pacific population remaining. Their survival is threatened by various factors, including entanglement in fishing gear, collisions with boats, and plastic pollution. Hildering urged the public to consider their impact on these creatures, stating, "You may not have known that these amazingly adapted living dinosaurs are your marine neighbors, but your day-to-day actions do impact them."

Bradshaw reflected on her experience, saying, "This animal was very healthy and safe and was just enjoying his life. It was just so magical." She expressed a newfound appreciation for the importance of protecting marine life. "I think a little bit more about how important our waters are to so many different marine mammals and every creature that we don't even know about. It's just so important that we protect them and recognize that when we do get those really special moments."

Hildering encourages anyone who spots a sea turtle to report it by calling 1-866-472-9663 or visiting the Canadian Sea Turtle Network online.