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Just two centuries ago, marine turtles roamed the oceans in their millions, gracing thousands of beaches each year as they laid their eggs. Yet over the last 100 years numbers have dropped dramatically, and some populations have simply disappeared.
Today, six out of the seven species are either Critically Endangered or Endangered (IUCN Red List 2003), whilst the status of the seventh species remains unknown due to insufficient information.
They may have outlived the dinosaurs - but the future of marine turtles looks bleak unless we take action now.
Australian waters are home to six of the world’s seven species of marine turtles, so Australians have a huge responsibility to improve the conservation of these majestic ancient mariners.
WWF-Australia Marine Turtle Conservation
WWF's turtle conservation programs address the many threats faced by these unique creatures, including:
- Habitat loss and degradation: e.g. vehicle traffic on beaches compacts the sand and makes it impossible for female turtles to dig nests;
- Marine debris: rubbish on beaches can trap hatchlings and prevent them from reaching the ocean;
- Unregulated fishing;
- IllegalTrade: international trade in products such as tortoiseshell from hawksbill turtles, green turtle calipee and leather from olive ridley turtles has exacerbated the quantity of marine turtles being caught in the oceans;
- Climate change: marine turtles have temperature-dependent sex determination, meaning that an increase in global temperatures could change the proportion of female and male turtle hatchlings and could result in marine turtle populations becoming unstable and;
- Bycatch: the unintentional capture of turtles in legal fishing activities.
Regional Marine Turtle Workshop
In September 2007, WWF organised a regional marine turtle workshop in Darwin. The three day workshop brought together Government, non-government-organisations, scientists and community representatives from Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, the Solomon Islands and Northern Australia and provided a forum for 47 marine turtle experts to discuss issues affecting marine turtles and form collaborative networks.
The delegates provided input that will be used to produce a regional (Eastern Indonesia, PNG, Timor Leste, Solomon Islands, Northern Australia) map (showing, for example, critical turtle habitats - nesting, foraging, migratory routes), a report and recommendations for conservation action for the six species of endangered turtles found in this region. |
