MEDIA RELEASE 22 August 2008

GNARALOO LAUNCHING MARINE TURTLE SURVIVAL PROGRAM

Gnaraloo Station has secured a Grant from the Australian Government to launch the Gnaraloo Marine Turtle Survival Program to be managed jointly with State Authorities to support the conservation of endangered marine Loggerhead and Green turtles.

“Turtle nests are found on the entire Gnaraloo coastline, with the most significant rookery at Gnaraloo Bay,” Gnaraloo Station owner Paul Richardson said.

Mr Richardson took over the station lease in July 2005 and indentified marine turtle conservation as an issue requiring priority environmental management attention. The Station immediately commenced seeking funding from various private sector, State and Australian Government sources to commence a proposed marine turtle conservation program.

Gnaraloo has now received funding from the Australian Government, under an ‘Envirofund Round 10 Grant’ to help get the program underway. Gnaraloo Station will make in-kind contributions to further support the work which in its initial phase will see volunteers spending approximately two-to-three hours a day collecting data on turtle nesting at Gnaraloo Station from November 2008 to February 2009.

Karen Hattingh, the Environmental Scientist who has been assisting Gnaraloo Station on a fulltime basis since 2005, said five of the world’s seven marine turtles are internationally recognised as species of conservation concern. Loggerhead (Caretta caretta) and Green (Chelonia mydas) turtles are two of these species. The Loggerhead is considered to be an ‘endangered species’ and the Green is viewed as a ‘vulnerable species’.

“This is a local environmental issue for the Gnaraloo coast in WA’s Gascoyne Region but it is of international conservation significance,” Ms Hattingh said.

“Studies have revealed that only about one out of 1,000 turtle hatchlings make it to maturity, making the survival of every hatchling critical to the future of the species globally.”

Teaming with DEC

Gnaraloo Station is able to commence its turtle conservation program under the guidance and direction of the WA Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC), during the 2008/09 financial year.

The Gnaraloo Marine Turtle Survival Program will be based on the Ningaloo Turtle Program, a community monitoring partnership program in Exmouth between DEC, the Cape Conservation Group and WWF.

DEC will provide scientific and technical advice and support, while Gnaraloo will manage volunteer activity and data collection.

Ms Hattingh said experience on other parts of the coast had shown that to be fully effective, the marine turtle monitoring and conservation program needed to be matched with a shielding campaign to combat fox predation of turtle nests which poses a significant threat to both species.

She said foxes may destroy as many as 70 per cent of marine turtle nests on the Ningaloo Coast.

To support the Gnaraloo Marine Turtle Survival Program, DEC and Gnaraloo Station have also submitted a joint application for funding under the Commonwealth’s ‘Caring for our Country’ program for fox control, to run over three annual turtle seasons.

If the application is successful, further in-kind contributions to the proposed fox baiting program would be made by Gnaraloo Station and by DEC.

Paul Richardson says: “These are major commitments of capital and working resources for Gnaraloo which will stretch budgets when we have such a range of competing priorities for ongoing investment in station improvements and maintenance. But we are committed to making the conservation of Loggerhead and Green turtles fundamental to the way we operate and the legacy we create”.

“We look forward to working in partnership with DEC to progress this important work that will also include the community in marine turtle conservation through the involvement of volunteers.”

The Gnaraloo Marine Turtle Survival Program aims to contribute to:

• Long term survival of marine turtles.

• Protection of turtle nesting sites.

• Foster community engagement in, and awareness of, turtle conservation.

Once the program had been launched and started to prove its value to such an important conservation project he said he was confident that it would be extended for more years.

More information:

Karen Hattingh, Environmental Manager, Gnaraloo Station

Tel: 08 9921 6235; 0418 923 880