Marine Species Conservation

Marine turtle species

• Biology and research
• Conservation and management
• Indigenous significance
• Flatback turtle
• Green turtle
• Hawksbill turtle
• Leatherback turtle
• Loggerhead turtle
• Olive Ridley turtle

See also

• Newsletter
• Recovery plan
• National partnership approach to sustainable harvest
• Olive Ridley nesting and foraging grounds

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How to help with marine turtle conservation and management

Turtle care hints:

• see and learn about marine turtles and join in the turtle watching and monitoring activities at Mon Repos Conservation Park in Queensland or other organised venues;
• do not discard old fishing lines, nets, plastic or other pollutants on beaches or into the sea;
• when boating, be on the lookout for turtles to avoid injuries to them, especially in shallow waters;
• help to control foxes and pigs near nesting beaches and ensure domestic dogs are kept under control at all times;
• control street and building lighting by appropriate design and landscaping in the vicinity of nesting beaches. Keep outside lights off during the turtle nesting season;
• avoid the use of campfires, torches and vehicle or boat lights near turtle nesting beaches;
• contact local community groups or government departments active in turtle conservation to see how you can help, especially with regular monitoring and recording of turtle activities. Record any sightings of dead turtles and identify the possible causes of death. Send these details with any tags to your state or territory conservation department.

Fishing activities

Help reduce turtle mortality:

• check longlines, gillnets and lobster/crab pots frequently to disentangle any turtles caught accidentally;
• use Turtle Excluder Devices (TEDs) for trawling and other fish netting activities. These devices allow large animals such as turtles to escape from trawl nets without being drowned;
• avoid trawling near turtle rookeries;
• avoid collisions with turtles;
• keep turtles which are in a coma on board, with their belly down and head sloping downwards until they revive.

Turtle watching

• keep the use of lights to a minimum;
• do not approach closely or shine lights or take photos using flash lights when the turtle is leaving the sea;
• wait until the turtle is laying eggs before shining lights or taking photos;
• minimise noise and sudden movements;
• keep dogs away from turtles and turtle nests.

Traditional harvesting by indigenous communities

• take immature turtles in preference to adult-sized turtles;
• preferably, take eggs only from nests that are likely to get washed by the tide;
• during the mating and nesting season take male turtles in preference to female turtles;
• record hunting details such as numbers taken, location, date, species, sex, and size. Record tag numbers and send these to the address provided on the tag.

Turtle monitoring

• Record date, numbers, locations and species of marine turtles seen at sea or nesting;
• Report all sightings of sick or injured turtles;
• Report any tag numbers sighted on turtles. Include date, location and information about the turtle (do not remove tags from live marine turtles);
• Count turtles using particular nesting beaches or estimate the number by counting turtle tracks (for each set of tracks leading onto the beach and back to the sea, count one turtle) and if possible, identify the species.