World Status, Exploitation and Trade - WIDECAST

AUSTRALIAAUSTRALIA:QUEENSLANDPOPULATION:Chelonia mvdasNesting sites Raine Island and nearby cays, including Pandora, at thenorthern extremity of the Great Barrier Reef, and the Capricorn-Bunkerisland groups, at its southern extremity, are important nesting sites. TheWellesley Group, including Bountiful, Pisonia and Rocky, in the south-eastGulf of Carpentaria, is also an important nest area (Limpus, 1982). Nestingoccurs at a much lower level at several other sites in the GBR and TorresStraits, including Bell Cay, Bushy Island, No. 7 and No. 8 Sandbanks, andBramble Cay (Limpus, 1982). Bramble Cay is the largest Torres Straitsrookery, but is minor compared with the Queensland Great Barrier Reef sites(Limpus and Parmenter, 1986).Nesting numbers Several thousands of females usually nest each season ateach of the three most important rookery areas: Raine-Pandora,Capricorn-Bunker, and the Wellesley Group (Limpus, 1982). This totalcomprises tens of thousands estimated to nest at Raine-Pandora, and about5000 at each of the other two centres (Limpus and Fleay, 1983). Within theCapricorn-Bunker group. Northwest, Wreck and Hoskyn islands appear to holdthe largest numbers, with around 20-100 females nightly at peak nesting(Limpus, Fleay and Guinea, 198A). Between 500 and 700 females appear to useBramble Cay (Torres Straits) a season, which would suggest 50-80 nightly atpeak nesting (Limpus, 1983). This is larger than the combined numbernesting in other parts of the Torres Straits; a small proportion of nestingfemales have been recorded to shift between Bramble and other nearby cayswithin a season (Limpus and Parmenter, 1986).Large-scale variation in annual nesting numbers has been recorded at RaineIsland, where over 11 000 females were ashore on one night on the 1.7-kiiibeach in 1974-5 and only around 100 nested nightly the following season(Limpus, 1982), and on Heron Island, where more turtles nested nightly in1974-5 than ever before in living memory, but with very sparse nesting in1975-6 (Limpus, Fleay and Guinea, 1984).Trends in nesting numbers With one apparent exception, there is noevidence that present nesting numbers in eastern Australia differsignificantly from levels recorded by early mariners in the area (Limpus,1982). The exception is Bramble Cay in the Torres Straits, where severalhundred nest at present, but according to local fishermen, numbers may havebeen an order of magnitude greater some 30 years ago, possibly with numberscomparable to those at Raine Island at present (Limpus and Parmenter,1986). Limpus and Fleay (1983), however, reported that Torres Straitspopulations (breeding along the GBR) are being over-harvested and are on thedecline, due primarily to more efficient hunting and the development of theDaru market in PNG (see below). They reported indicating that turtlehunters are having to travel farther to maintain catches.Nesting season Nesting occurs between late November and January insouthern Queensland.Foraging sites The entire Great Barrier Reef area, while supporting veryimportant nesting populations, which in part disperse to foraging areasoutside Australian territory, also provides feeding grounds for populationswhich in part nest outside the Great Barrier Reef. See next paragraph.m