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Marine Species Conservation
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National: The flatback turtle is not currently listed under the Commonwealth's Endangered Species Protection Act 1992. However, the species is now experiencing similar threats as other marine turtles
Queensland: Vulnerable
All known breeding sites of the flatback turtle occur in Australia.
They feed in the northern coastal regions of Australia, extending as far south as the Tropic of Capricorn. Their feeding grounds also extend to the Indonesian archipelago and the Papua New Guinea coast.
Flatbacks have a preference for shallow, soft-bottomed sea bed habitats away from reefs.
Flatbacks nest on inshore islands and the mainland from Mon Repos in the south to around Mackay in the north.
Other major nesting areas occur in the Kimberley region of Western Australia and extend to the Torres Strait.
The inner shelf area of the southern Great Barrier Reef includes four major rookeries on Peak, Wild Duck, Aviod and Curtis Islands.
Nesting activity reaches a peak between late November and early December, and ceases by late January. Hatchlings emerge from nests from late December until about late March, with most hatching during February.
The flatback turtle is carnivorous, feeding mostly on soft bodied prey such as sea cucumbers, soft corals and jellyfish. They feed mainly in subtidal, soft-bottomed habitats inshore of the outer Great Barrier Reef from Hervey Bay to Torres Strait, Gulf of Carpentaria, North West Shelf, Arafura Sea and the Gulf of Papua.