Sea Turtle Foundation
Rose Boardman
For more than 100 million years sea turtles have graced our oceans, filling a vital role in the balance of marine ecosystems. Unfortunately, sea turtles face many threats to their survival with six of the seven species classified as threated by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The Sea Turtle Foundation is a marine conservation organisation dedicated to the conservation of marine turtle and their habitats throughout Australia and the Indo-Pacific region.
Turtles are vital for our oceans. Photo: Mae Dorricott.
Hey, tell us about the Sea Turtle Foundation
The Sea Turtle Foundation was established in the early 2000s by a group of turtle scientists and conservationist who were concerned about the man-made issues that threaten turtles. We approach conservation through several different avenues including direct action to stranded turtles, training for turtle monitoring, education and awareness programs and supporting researchers.
Capture and release of a juvenile green turtle. Photo: Johanna Karam.
Can you tell us about your current projects?
We currently have a range of exciting projects….
Project 1: Coordinating responses to stranded turtles in North Queensland whilst working with government agencies to train volunteers to perform these responses.
Project 2: Working alongside the Queensland Government to analyse historical sand temperature data for an important hawksbill-nesting beach in the northern Great Barrier Reef. The sex of turtles is dependent on the temperature of the sand in which their eggs are laid, so this information is crucial for identifying suitable nesting sites to be prioritised for on-going protection and management.
Project 3: Collaboration with the Queensland Government and rangers from the Torres Strait to put a satellite transmitter on a hawksbill turtle. The conservation status of hawksbill turtles in Queensland was recently changed to ‘Endangered’. Tracking turtles when they nest will allow us to improve our understanding of where this population is spending the rest of their time, and the threat they face during different life stages.
Project 4: In September 2019, Sea Turtle Foundation will host it’s biennial Turtle Health and Rehabilitation Symposium, which brings together experts in the field of turtle health, veterinarian science and rehabilitation.
Seagrass beds are important habitats for turtles. Photo: Alastair Freeman.
What volunteering opportunities does The Sea Turtle Foundation offer for inspiring marine conservationists?
The majority of our volunteer opportunities are office-based. These include helping us to organise events, fundraise, develop campaigns, producing educational materials and delivering educational and awareness-raising activities.
What are the current biggest threats to sea turtles?
Different populations of turtles face many local threats around the world from plastic pollution, entanglement in abandoned fishing gear, loss of nesting and feeding habitat due to coastal development and illegal trade in turtle products. However, the biggest threat to the survival of turtles is presented by climate change. The temperature of the sand where their eggs incubate determines the sex of turtles. Warming global temperatures mean that the sand on many nesting beaches is increasing.
Tagged turtle on a beach. Photo: Johanna Karam.
It has been long hypothesised that this will lead to an increase in the proportion of female turtle hatchlings being produced. Research published in early 2018, was the first to confirm this sex ratio skewing in a real population. Genetic studies showed that around 99% of green turtles born in the northern Great Barrier Reef during the past 20-30 years are female. This puts the population in a very dangerous situation. Additionally, climate change is leading to an increased number of extreme weather events, which can destroy nesting habitat by eroding and flooding beaches.
How can the public help support the Sea Turtle Foundation?
Funding support for conservation organisations is very scarce so we depend on the generosity of individuals and corporate donors to keep us going.
Community support. Photo: The Sea Turtle Foundation.
Lastly, what do you hope the future will bring for our oceans and turtle populations?
I hope that the love of turtles continues to grow, inspiring people to get involved in reducing threats to sea turtles. Global climate change is the biggest threat, but as individuals, it can be difficult for us to see what we can do to address the problem. As we put pressure on governments and other decisions-makers to tackle man-made climate change, we need to do all that we can to reduce other impacts so that turtles and other marine life can survive long-enough to allow for global change.
I hope that together we can reduce the amount of discarded fishing gear, plastic and other pollutions getting into our waterways, protect our important coastal zones to give turtles the best possible chance of surviving for many generations to come.
Photo: Mae Dorricott.