Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2017L00641:body:0:p63
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2017L00641
Segment Type: other
Provision Reference: 
Character Range: 250150–261621

northern Great Barrier Reef (G-nGBR)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           Early stages of decline[33]
Threats                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                A. Climate change and variability            Very high
H. Habitat modification – extractive industries (historical)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           Very high
B. Marine debris – entanglement                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        High
Important nesting areas                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Internesting Buffer: 20 km
Major: Raine Island, Moulter Cay[142].                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 Mating: Aug–Dec
Minor: Murray Is., Bramble Cay, Sandbanks No. 7 and 8, Dauar Is., Milman Is., mainland coast from Cape Grenville to Torres Strait.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     Nesting: Oct–Mar (peak: late Dec–early Jan)
Index beaches monitored: Raine Island (1974- ), Moulter Cay[142], Bramble Is., Dauar Island (2006- )[87].                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Hatching: Dec–May
Foraging habitat
Post-hatchling/young juveniles: Spend the first 5-10 years in oceanic waters of the southern Pacific Ocean, utilising floating seaweed rafts and opportunistically feeding on gelatinous organisms, before returning back to inshore foraging habitat.
Juvenile-adult: Tidal/sub-tidal habitats with coral reef, mangrove, sand, rocky reefs and mudflats where there are algal turfs or seagrass meadows present[18]. A proportion of turtles may also remain resident in the open ocean[92].
Foraging grounds monitored: Torres Strait (aerial surveys), Shoalwater Bay[145], Edgecumbe Bay, (Gudjuda Rangers) and the Howick Group.
Distribution: See Figure 9.
Stock description
Raine Island and Moulter Cay support greater than 90 per cent of nesting for this stock[142]. Raine Island, Moulter Cay and MacLennan Cay make up the Raine Island National Park (Scientific). Raine Island is surrounded by a separate marine national park zone. Access to the island is restricted by a 'Restricted Area – Special Management Area' designated under the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Zoning Plan 2003. It is also subject to an Indigenous Land Use Agreement. There is concern that reproductive output at Raine Island has decreased with low nesting success and hatchling production and large numbers of adult turtles dying on the island as a result of heat exhaustion and cliff falls[142]. The cause of the low hatchling production is not fully understood, although changes to the landscape of the island and changes in extreme weather causing tidal inundation, and ocean acidification due to climate change may be affecting the availability of suitable nesting habitat[45, 185]. The Queensland Government has initiated the Raine Island Recovery Project (2015-2020) aimed at addressing these issues.
The Torres Strait provides important foraging habitat for green turtles from this stock[202], although the foraging range for this stock does extend into Northern Territory waters (Groom et al. 2017, in press). Foraging in these waters and the Gulf of Carpentaria increases the risk of entanglement by ghost nets[255]. Turtles in this stock support the Torres Strait Turtle Fisheries - a traditional subsistence fishery that is limited to Traditional Inhabitants of the Torres Strait and Papua New Guinea, and are hunted in the Northern Territory (Groom et al. 2017, in press). Traditional take in the