Marine turtle populations have declined in many places across the globe.
Threats to their survival include
Parks and Wildlife monitors and protects marine turtles with the support of mining companies, fisheries companies, Aboriginal people, the community, the media and others.
Flatback turtles are the only marine turtle species that nest exclusively in Australia. They are listed as vulnerable under Australia’s Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 and as data deficient under the IUCN Red List of threatened species. Flatback turtles were only described as a separate species in 1988 from research undertaken in Queensland.
Western Australia’s Pilbara and Kimberley island and mainland beaches support significant nesting grounds for flatbacks.
The Northwest Shelf Flatback Turtle Conservation Program (NWSFTCP) is a 30-year, $32.5 million program that aims to conserve flatbacks in WA waters, at nesting beaches and throughout their range, which can include Commonwealth, Northern Territory and Queensland jurisdictions.
Research is still needed to define the abundance and distribution of the flatback population of the Northwest Shelf and work being done includes:
The NWSFTCP is one of two additional conservation programs required to be delivered by the Gorgon Joint Venture Partners as detailed in the Variation Agreement 2009 to the Barrow Island Act 2003.
Find out more on the Northwest Shelf Flatback Turtle Conservation Program website.
The Jurabi Turtle Centre, 13 kilometres from Exmouth, between Hunters and Mauritius beaches, is adjacent to a popular rookery. The centre, a collaborative project between the Shire of Exmouth and Parks and Wildlife, provides interpretive and educational displays on turtle biology and ecology, turtle viewing advice and ready access to turtle nesting beaches.
A short film on how to observe nesting marine turtles is shown at the Milyering Discovery Centre in Cape Range National Park during the turtle breeding season.
A nationally accredited Turtle Tour Guiding course has been established at Exmouth TAFE. Places are available from September each year with subsequent opportunities to obtain employment in the area.
Marine turtles are individually marked to provide information about
Marker tagging programs have been conducted in Western Australian locations since the mid-1980s and continue at Dirk Hartog Island National Park in Shark Bay, Rosemary Island in the Dampier Archipelago, Barrow and Varanus islands off the Pilbara coast, and Cowrie Beach on Mundabullangana Station near Port Hedland.
The department works in partnership with Pilbara Iron, Woodside Energy, Chevron Australia, Apache Energy, The University of Western Australia and Mundabullangana Station.
Community groups in Exmouth, Coral Bay, Wickham and Port Hedland monitor turtle nesting beaches.
Observers walk along defined sections of beach at sunrise every morning during the main nesting season and record:
Data is used to identify key nesting habitats, their relative significance, trends and management issues.
Community programs have several partners—Parks and Wildlife, Cape Conservation Group, WWF Australia, Commonwealth Natural Heritage Trust, Wildlife Link, Coastwest, Care for Hedland Environmental Association, West Pilbara Community Turtle Group, Pilbara Iron, MacMahon, BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Threatened Species Network.
Volunteers are invited to assist with all these programs. For more information visit http://www.ningalooturtles.org.au or contact the local community representative:
Aerial surveys along the Ningaloo-Carnarvon coast and along the Pilbara coast between Onslow and Port Hedland, including islands, are used to identify turtle rookeries, show the nesting abundance and indicate numbers.