Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2017L00641:body:0:p91
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2017L00641
Segment Type: other
Provision Reference: 
Character Range: 647836–665223

A2
    * Ensure that spill risk strategies and response programs include management for turtles and their habitats, particularly in reference to slow to recover habitats, e.g. seagrass meadows or corals.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               A4

    * Quantify the extent to which terrestrial predation effects this stock.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           A6, B3
    * Establish a long-term monitoring program at an index beach to assess trends in nesting abundance and assess efficacy of management programs.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     B1
Measure of success
Trends in nesting turtle abundance are assessed for this stock                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         B1

Leatherback – Nesting in Australia (LB)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               Unknown
Threats                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               A. Climate change and variability  High
B. Marine debris – ingestion                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          High
E. International take – outside Australia's jurisdiction                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              High
F. Fisheries bycatch – domestic and international                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     High
Important nesting areas                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               Internesting Buffer: 20 km
Major: None.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Mating: Unknown
Minor: Cobourg Peninsula, Maningrida and Croker Island (Northern Territory) and unconfirmed nesting in Western Australia.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             Nesting: Dec–Jan[85]
Historic: Wreck Rock, Moore Park, Mon Repos (Queensland) and Ballina (New South Wales).                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               Hatching: Jan–Feb
Foraging habitat
Post-hatchling/young juveniles: Unknown.
Juvenile-adult: Leatherback turtles forage in oceanic waters on gelatinous prey (i.e. jellyfish)[136]. They occur in waters over Australia's continental shelf year round. They are commonly observed in waters of the Northern Territory and south-western Western Australia. On the east coast they are most commonly reported from the Sunshine Coast (Queensland) to central New South Wales and southeast Australia (from Tasmania, Victoria and eastern South Australia)[136] with a foraging hot-spot identified in the Tasman Sea between New South Wales/Victoria and New Zealand[14].
Foraging grounds monitored: None.
Distribution: See Figure 8.
Stock description
While Leatherback turtles have been known to sporadically nest in low numbers in Australia, they have not been recorded nesting on the east coast since 1996[85], or in the Northern Territory since 2011, although one nesting track was observed in the Gulf of Carpentaria in 2016 (Groom, pers. comm. 2017). It is likely that this nesting aggregation is functionally extinct[149]. It is currently unknown which genetic stock(s) these turtles represent[63], further work is being planned to provide clarification on their genetic relationships (FitzSimmons, pers. comm. 2017). Leatherback turtles nesting in winter in Papua New Guinea migrate towards the east Australian current and there appears to be a foraging 'hotspot' between Australia and New Zealand[14]. It is likely that turtles observed in waters off Western Australia are part of the subpopulation nesting in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands (India)[63].
Leatherback turtles are found foraging in waters over Australia's continental shelf and are most frequently captured as bycatch in longline fisheries where they are often released alive[177]. All Australian longline vessels are required to carry de-hookers and line cutters to facilitate quick release of turtles caught on longlines. Leatherback turtles were also commonly captured in the