The following information is specifically related to Green Turtles in Australia.

Conservation status

Australia – National: ‘Vulnerable’ [Environmental Protection & Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999]

Australia - Queensland: ‘Vulnerable’ [Nature Conservation Act 1992]

Distribution and habitat

Based on tagging evidence, green turtles nesting in the Great Barrier Reef migrate from Indonesia, Gulf of Carpentaria, Arnhem Land, Torres Strait, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and New Caledonia. Those nesting along the West Australian coast migrate from Indonesia, Queensland and the Northern Territory.

Breeding

Nesting season: Between October and February in eastern Australia. Hatchlings emerge December to May.

Breeding areas:

There are four major breeding areas in Australia:

• Southern Great Barrier Reef – 13 major rookeries, including NW Island, Wreck Island, Hoskyn Island, Heron Island, the Coral Sea cays; approx 8,000 females.
• Northern Great Barrier Reef – 5 major rookeries, including Raine Island and nearby cays, Bramble Cay in the Torres Strait; approx 30,000 females.
• Gulf of Carpentaria – in the southeast, 3 major rookeries at Bountiful, Pisonia and Rocky Islands; in the southwest, adjacent to the Sir Edward Pellew Islands

• Western Australia– widely spread major rookeries on NW Shelf, including the Lacepede Islands, north of Broome, Barrow and Monte Bello Islands