Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2017L00641:body:0:p16
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2017L00641
Segment Type: other
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Character Range: 43222–46299

migration of individuals between nesting areas. Turtles from different stocks typically overlap at feeding grounds[169]. Figures 3-7 show the geographic distribution of nesting sites for each stock for five of the species of marine turtles nesting in Australia (green, loggerhead, olive ridley, hawksbill and flatback turtles). Figure 8 shows the known historical nesting locations and dispersal of leatherback turtles and Figures 9-15 describe the known geographic dispersal of the other five species. Dispersal information is based on tag recovery data, satellite tracking information and genetic analysis of mixed stocks foraging grounds.

Green turtles
Green turtles nesting in Australia are distributed across nine genetically distinct stocks including newly identified Cobourg and the Cocos Keeling stocks[63]. The remaining stocks are found at the North West Shelf, Ashmore Reef, Scott Reef-Browse Island, Gulf of Carpentaria, northern Great Barrier Reef and Torres Strait, Coral Sea and southern Great Barrier Reef. In addition, there are green turtles that feed in Australia that are part of stocks that breed in other countries (e.g. Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and New Caledonia). Green turtles are predominantly found in Australian waters off the Northern Territory, Queensland, and Western Australian coastlines with more limited numbers in New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia.

Loggerhead turtles
There are two genetically distinct stocks of loggerhead turtles nesting in Australia, one in Queensland (known as the south-west Pacific stock) and one in Western Australia. Loggerhead turtles forage in all coastal states and the Northern Territory, but are uncommon in South Australia, Victoria and Tasmania. As post-hatchlings they are known to travel as far as South America[21]. Loggerhead turtles foraging in New South Wales originate from the south-west Pacific stock[63].

Hawksbill turtles
This plan describes three hawksbill turtle stocks, one in the northern Great Barrier Reef and Torres Strait (known as the north Queensland stock) and one in Arnhem Land (the north-east Arnhem Land stock), which is differentiated by temporal variation in breeding[63]. A third is found on the north-west shelf of Western Australia (the Western Australia stock)[229]. Nesting hawksbill turtles from the northern Great Barrier Reef migrate to the Northern Territory, the southern coast of West Papua (formerly Irian Jaya) and Papua New Guinea. Hawksbill turtles that forage on the Great Barrier Reef migrate to neighbouring countries including Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, and the Solomon Islands. It is not known from which stock hawksbill turtles foraging in New South Wales originate. The genetic relatedness of hawksbill turtles nesting in the Kimberley to hawksbill turtles nesting elsewhere in Western Australia is currently unknown.

Flatback turtles
There are five stocks of flatback turtles currently described around Australia[63, 187], however genetic studies being undertaken (as a collaboration between the Department of Parks and Wildlife and CSIRO)