Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2017L00641:body:0:p71
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2017L00641
Segment Type: other
Provision Reference: 
Character Range: 360745–367531

been subject to multiple events since 1998 including three cyclones (one category 5), an outbreak of disease and two bleaching events[72] before 2013 and another in 2016[8], which potentially have reduced the resilience of Sandy Islet. The accumulation of sand and its subsequent removal during cyclonic wash-overs and the frequency of thermal plumes associated with increasing sea temperatures and the anticipated rise in sea level due to climate change make the rookery at Sandy Islet extremely vulnerable (Guinea, pers. comm. 2017). The survival of the islet is further in doubt with the subsidence and compaction of rock strata underlying the reef as the oil and gas reserves of the Torosa Field are extracted (Guinea, pers. comm. 2017). Management of this stock's environment is undertaken by the Western Australian Government in conjunction with Industry partners working in the region. There is a lack of data regarding the status of this stock and a better understanding of the trends in nesting abundance would assist in identifying appropriate management measures. This stock is considered likely to be restricted in its capacity to expand into other nesting areas in the event that nesting beaches are lost or sand temperatures increase as a result of climate change. It is not known whether loss of vegetation occurring at Browse Island will result in changes to the sex-ratio of hatchlings emerging on nesting beaches[77]. While the risk of an oil spill is generally considered low, the consequences would be substantial due to the small range and localised nature of this stock, and the risk increases with each new activity. The consequences of an oil spill have implications for the immediate health of marine turtles and their nesting, future nesting activities, water quality and general turtle health[206].
The extent to which marine debris impacts this stock is not known. However, marine turtles foraging in the open ocean are at risk from ghost nets carried along the currents from Indonesian waters towards the Gulf of Carpentaria[255]. An unknown proportion of the stock forages outside Australian waters and is likely subject to harvest in Indonesia[136]. There are also anecdotal reports of illegal harvest of adults and eggs at Browse Island and Sandy Island (Pendoley, pers. comm. 2015), however the extent of take is currently unknown. Predation by tropical fire ants (Solenopsis geminata) has been recorded at Ashmore Reef[79] and as the ants can move from island to island they may also colonise Browse Island.
Priority actions specifically required to recover this stock                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     Action Area
    * Manage anthropogenic activities to ensure marine turtles are not displaced from identified habitat critical to the survival as per section 3.3 Table 6.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    A9
    * Understand the implications of sea level rise for this stock.