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

Conservation status

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

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

Distribution and habitat

In Australia the main feeding areas are the east coast, including northern NSW, the Great Barrier Reef, and the Torres Strait; the Northern Territory; and Western Australia down to Shark Bay.

Tag returns from hawksbills nesting and foraging in the Great Barrier Reef indicate that migration occurs to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu.

Breeding

Nesting season:

Year-round. Concentrating from November to late March in the Great Barrier Reef and Torres Strait and from July to September in the N Territory. Hatchlings emerge year-round, concentrated from February to early May in the Great Barrier Reef and Torres Strait, and from September to November in the N Territory.

Native predators on hatchlings Gulls, reef egrets, ghost crabs, dingoes, fish, crocodiles, sharks.

Breeding areas

There are three major breeding areas in Australia:

• Northern Great Barrier Reef north of Princess Charlotte Bay – Milman, Johnson, Bouydong, Bird and Piper Islands; and the Torres Strait – Aukane, Kabikane, Mimi, Bet, Sassie, and Lacey Islands. The only high density nesting in the Great Barrier Reef is at Milman Island. The entire northern section of the Great Barrier Reef, and the Torres Strait is internationally important for hawksbill nesting as the species has declined markedly in other parts of the world.
• Northeast Northern Territory – Hawk, NE and Truant Islands.
• Western Australia – Rosemary and Varanus Islands.