News & Views

A green turtle returns to the sea after being tagged with a satellite transmitter in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.

Photo courtesy Luciana Ferreira. 

Marine scientists have recently mapped previously unknown foraging grounds and migratory routes for Western Australia’s green turtles (Chelonia mydas) to support the conservation of this iconic threatened species.

The Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS)-led study also examined where turtles spent time during the nesting season, which will allow researchers to identify the areas that are most important to them, and to determine where this overlaps with industrial activity.

The project saw researchers tag 20 female green turtles nesting at Western Australia’s beaches and track them with satellites. They then combined their data with that from a further 76 turtles tagged in previous studies. AIMS marine ecologist Dr Luciana Ferreira emphasises the ultimate goal in mapping the green turtle distribution is to provide the knowledge to help in reducing the species’ potential interactions with human activities in the resource-rich areas of Australia’s north-west.