Recovery Plan for Marine Turtles in Australia.

The Recovery Plan for Marine Turtles in Australia (2017-2027) is a National Plan which aims to aid in the recovery of six of the world’s seven species of marine turtles. These species are the EPBC Act listed threatened ‘endangered’ and they are: loggerhead (Caretta caretta), olive ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea), leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea), green (Chelonia mydas), flatback (Natator depressus) and hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata) turtles.
The long-term recovery objective for marine turtles is to minimise anthropogenic threats to allow for the conservation status of marine turtles to improve so that they can be removed from the EPBC Act threatened species list. Recognising that the long-term recovery objective is unlikely to be achieved during the ten year life of this Plan, the following interim objectives and targets have been set for the life of this Plan. They follow: 1) Current levels of legal and management protection for marine turtles are maintained or improved both domestically and throughout the migratory range of Australia’s marine turtles. 2) The management of marine turtles is supported. 3) Anthropogenic threats are demonstrably minimised. 4) Trends at index beaches, and population demographics at important foraging grounds are described.
Several actions are identified in the Plan and subdivided into actions that aim at assessing and addressing key threats and enabling and measuring recovery. Follow overarching actions: maintain and improve efficacy of legal and management protection; adaptively manage turtle stocks to reduce risk and build resilience to climate change and variability; reduce the impacts from marine debris; minimise chemical and terrestrial discharge; address international take within and outside Australia’s jurisdiction; reduce impacts from terrestrial predation; reduce international and domestic fisheries bycatch; minimise light pollution; address the impacts of coastal development/infrastructure and dredging and trawling; maintain and improve sustainable Indigenous management of marine turtles; determine trends at index beaches; understand population demographics at key foraging grounds; address information gaps to better facilitate the recovery of marine turtle stocks