Habitat Requirements, Threats and LimitiHabitat Requirements, Threats and Limiting Factors

Habitat Requirements, Threats and Limiting Factors

This plan has identified five different habitat types that marine turtles use at different stages of their lives, which are all shared by people to varying extents. These are: the natal beach; mating areas; inter-nesting habitat; feeding areas; and pelagic waters. Ideally marine turtle habitats should be free from human influences that can kill, injure or disable a turtle. Marine turtles are long-lived, slow to mature and are subject to a number of threats. If these threats persist, they will threaten the integrity of wild populations of marine turtles in Australia. The main threats are identified as:

 the bycatch of marine turtles in fisheries;
 unknown levels of harvest by indigenous Australians and unsustainable levels of harvest by people in neighbouring countries of the Asia/Pacific region;
 predation of turtle eggs by native and introduced animals;
 coastal development;
 deteriorating water quality;
 marine debris; and
 loss of habitat.

The actions in this plan aim to reduce the impact of these influences and to increase survival rates, particularly of adults and large immature turtles that will soon become part of the breeding population. Some threats will not be abated quickly but some such as prawn trawling can be resolved largely through the use of appropriate technology such as turtle excluder devices (TEDs). The process to assess otter trawling as a key threatening process added to the impetus to implement TED technology and the successful listing as a key threatening process under the EPBC Act permits the assessment of the introduction of the technology on Australian prawn fisheries over time. Populations of marine turtles that breed in Australia, migrate to feed in other jurisdictions within the Asia/Pacific region, where resident populations have declined. Genetic analysis and an understanding of the level of harvest within Australian and the Asia/Pacific region, together with a consistent approach to marine turtle management in the Asia/Pacific region would benefit what are currently considered globally significant populations.