On World Turtle Day, we are shining a light on the six species of marine turtles found on the Great Barrier Reef and the action Australia is taking to protect them.
Of these six species, three are endangered and three are critically endangered.
We have stepped up our efforts to better manage threats they are facing. These threats include feral animals, habitat loss and marine debris.
The Nest to Ocean Turtle Protection Program is supporting projects to protect turtle eggs and turtle hatchlings from feral animals, like pigs and foxes.
This Program is supporting innovative ideas. This includes using drones, infra-red cameras and detector dogs to control feral pigs and foxes.
The program has achieved greater than 90% nest survival and protected approximately 2.5 million turtle hatchlings since 2014.
Marine debris, including plastics, is another big issue for the Reef’s turtles.
We fund the Tangaroa Blue ReefClean Program. The Program runs beach-clean ups and other activities to remove marine debris. It also runs education initiatives and collects valuable marine debris data.
ReefClean has stopped over 120 tonnes of marine debris from entering the Reef since 2019.
