Current Species StatusCurrent Species Status

Current Species Status

The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) came into force on 16 July 2000 and the list of threatened species under that Act was gazetted in August 2000. All six species of marine turtle identified in this recovery plan are included on that list. The EPBC Act identifies the need to prepare a Recovery Plan and specifies the content of that plan for threatened species listed under the Act. Despite status varying from species to species and country-to-country, global decline of marine turtle populations has been recognised by the World Conservation Union (IUCN) through the assigning of Endangered status to all species except the hawksbill and leatherback turtles, which are listed as Critically Endangered, and the flatback turtle, which is listed as data deficient. Similarly, the Convention for the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) acknowledge the decline in global populations of marine turtles by listings in their appendices. These listings on the CMS provide protection of marine turtles by nations that are parties to the conventions while CITES controls international trade in listed species.