Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2017L00641:body:0:p35
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2017L00641
Segment Type: other
Provision Reference: 
Character Range: 107283–110372

and relevant state and territory legislation where the facilities occur in state waters or on land.
Loss or modification of habitat can result in short term impacts such as physical displacement. Where habitat is lost permanently there is likely to be an impact on the viability of the stock utilising that habitat.

Infrastructure/coastal development
Coastal development around nesting beaches has the potential to reduce the reproductive success of a stock through direct mortality where nests are destroyed; by reducing availability of suitable nesting habitat and thereby reducing the fitness of female turtles that must find other nesting areas; or by impacting the quality of the nesting habitat. For instance, where dune vegetation is removed, the loss of shading can increase sand temperatures and result in increased female-biased sex ratios or greater mortality[119]. Similarly, reclamation of swamps situated behind dunes can directly affect the moisture content of the sand in which eggs are incubated and subsequently the success of incubation[1].
Coastal infrastructure such as ports and marinas, aquaculture facilities, marine energy production, reclamation of swamp land, the presence of jetties or armouring of beaches can reduce the availability of important marine turtle habitat.
Important foraging grounds are often made up of turtles from multiple stocks and therefore developments that affect foraging habitat are likely to impact multiple stocks. Marine turtles show high fidelity to nesting and foraging areas, and displacement from a foraging area is likely to cause reduced fitness and subsequently reduced reproductive output[207].
In this context, threats from infrastructure and coastal development focus on the modification of the physical environment. Threats from pollution, oil spills, light, noise and increased vessel traffic associated with coastal development are discussed at Sections 4C Chemical and terrestrial discharge, 4G Light pollution and 4J Vessel disturbance and 4K Noise interference respectively.

Dredging and trawling
Both dredging and trawling activities can degrade or irreversibly damage sea floor habitats and the associated benthic flora and fauna. Where recovery is possible, it may take decades, and the extent of trawl damage to the sea floor is dependent on the frequency and coverage of trawl activity[73].
Dredging and trawling can cause physical damage through direct removal of seagrass, coral, rocky reef or muddy substrate or indirectly through changing water quality, particularly by increasing turbidity and sediment deposition killing seagrass and coral habitats[223]. This is particularly problematic for marine turtles in important foraging and internesting areas. As noted earlier, foraging areas generally provide habitat for multiple stocks and thus the loss of foraging habitat will affect multiple stocks. Loss of habitat and/or food could result in slowed turtle growth or females being unable to obtain sufficient body condition to make breeding migrations[24]. Impacts in internesting habitat will affect the