Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2017L00641:body:0:p83
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2017L00641
Segment Type: other
Provision Reference: 
Character Range: 539347–543821

Reef and Torres Strait, and mainland coast of western Cape York Peninsula north of Cotterell River.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           Nesting: year round (peak: Dec–Feb)
Index beaches monitored: Milman Island (1991-2010)[54].                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Hatching: year round (peak: Feb–May)
Foraging habitat
Post-hatchling/young juveniles: Little is known, but likely to forage in waters of the Coral Sea[146].
Juvenile-adult: Tidal and subtidal coral and rocky reef habitats where they feed on algae, sponges and soft corals. Hawksbill turtles can be found in clear or turbid water, on reefs, seagrass meadows or on soft-bottom habitats[18].
Foraging grounds monitored: Clack Reef, Howick Group, Heron and Wistari Reefs, Moreton Bay[146].
Distribution: See Figure 13.
Stock description
Hawksbill turtles nesting in Queensland and the Torres Strait appear to be from the same genetic stock as those nesting in east Arnhem Land[63]. However, given the seasonal separation in nesting between these two nesting aggregations[136], for the purposes of this plan they are considered separate stocks.
In Queensland, there was a large-scale commercial harvest and trade of hawksbill turtles (for tortoiseshell) from the 1700s ceasing in 1968, which is likely to have substantially depleted the stock[136]. In 2000, nesting in north Queensland and the Torres Strait was estimated to be approximately 4000 females[134]. Milman Island provides the only long-term monitoring data for this stock and a three per cent decline was described for this nesting aggregation between 1990-1999[54]. It is not known whether this decline is representative across the stock. This species' ability to recover from a decline is hampered by its unusually long interval between nesting seasons (approximately five years) and late maturation (greater than 30 years)[134].
Management of this stock is undertaken by the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service, Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority and Torres Strait Regional Authority in conjunction with local non-government organisations and Indigenous communities.
Hawksbill turtles that breed in Australia migrate to foraging grounds across northern Australia, the Great Barrier Reef, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu[134]. In the broader Coral Sea region there is an ongoing substantial harvest of hawksbill turtles for the black market tortoiseshell trade that is likely to be a current major source of mortality in this stock[134]. Ghost nets are responsible for the death of many hundreds of turtles annually with immature hawksbill turtles being the most frequently reported in nets washed ashore in the Northern Territory[136, 237].
On western Cape York, there are high levels (90 per cent egg loss) through dog, pig, and varanid predation on nests for all species of turtle, which means that the low density hawksbill turtle nesting in this region will be affected[136]. Rates of terrestrial predation are not known throughout the remainder of their range. However, goannas are known to occur on most islands