She said it was important to minimize human activity around beach areas used by nesting leatherbacks.

CNN: Race to save the leatherback turtle

Threats to the leatherbacks include accidental capture by fishing boats and development on beaches where they nest.

CNN: Endangered turtles race to save their future

Following the Welsh discovery, marine ecologists at Swansea University and University College Cork used satellite-tracking systems to follow 10 leatherbacks from their nesting sites in the tropics.

BBC: NEWS | UK | Wales | Mystery of Wales turtle 'solved'

More and more leatherbacks are being spotted around the coast of Britain and Ireland, suggesting the turtles are trawling our waters for their favourite food - jellyfish.

BBC: NEWS | UK | Wales | Mystery of Wales turtle 'solved'

In the Pacific Ocean alone around 95 percent of leatherbacks have vanished in the past 20 years due to human activity, according to the environmental group Conservation International.

CNN: Turtles in race to beat extinction

Although leatherbacks have not traditionally been prized for their meat, their eggs have been highly sought in various parts of the world as a protein source, an aphrodisiac or for use in traditional medicines.

CNN: Race to save the leatherback turtle

Each time the leatherbacks surface to breathe, the transmitters attached to their shells send data about their location, water temperature and water depth via satellite, allowing marine biologists to track their progress with GPS precision.

CNN: Turtles in race to beat extinction

Pollution also poses a threat: floating plastic bags look a lot like the jellyfish they rely on as their main food source, and have been found in the digestive systems of about half of the leatherbacks studied in recent times.

CNN: Race to save the leatherback turtle