Australia: Floods cause spate of dugong deaths

AAP Herald Sun 8 Aug 11;

MORE dugongs have died this year than in all of 2010 because of Queensland's summer of disasters, it has emerged.

Ninety-six of the sea mammals washed up dead on the state's coastline in the first seven months of 2011, compared to 79 for the whole of 2010.

Environment Minister Vicky Darling said scientists believe most of the dugongs died of starvation after Queensland's floods devastated their main food source, seagrass.

Floodwater had deposited a "triple whammy" of pesticides, sediment and fresh water on the seagrass, she said.

"Seagrass beds have become stressed by repeated periods of high turbidity and low salinity following flooding in the coastal catchments," Ms Darling said in a statement.

"This is a trend that tragically is highly likely to continue for the rest of the year."

Of the 96 dugongs, six died from human-induced causes such as boat strikes.

Scientists believe about 90 died from poor physical condition consistent with lack of food, Ms Darling said.

In their weakened condition the animals may also be more susceptible to boat strikes and getting tangled in nets, she said.

The majority of deaths happened around Townsville, in the state's north, and in Moreton Bay, in the southeast.

Ms Darling said she expected dugong deaths to increase this year, but scientists had told her the Queensland dugongs were not in danger of dying out.

"They advise us that marine habitats will recover fully over the next few years, leading to an increase in marine animal health and a decrease in stranding numbers - assuming a return to more normal seasonal conditions," she said.

"Our dugong population has been traditionally very resilient and there's no reason to believe they will not bounce back."

Ms Darling said the state government had already taken measures to protect marine animals.

These included cracking down on pesticide run-off in the Great Barrier Reef and run-off from drains, and go-slow and no-fishing zones in Moreton Bay.

Turtle crisis looming on reef: WWF
AAP Sydney Morning Herald 9 Aug 11;

Starving turtles and carcasses are washing up along the Queensland coast amid warning of a wildlife crisis on the Great Barrier Reef.

Researchers, traditional owners and residents are reporting a spike in the number of dead, starving and sick turtles being found along the coast since last summer's floods and Cyclone Yasi.

There's also been a rise in dugong deaths after the natural disasters destroyed large tracts of the seagrass the two species rely on for food.

The conservation group WWF on Tuesday called on the state government to urgently release data on turtle deaths and strandings.

The government on Monday revealed 96 dugongs had been found dead in the first seven months of 2011, compared to 79 for the whole of last year.

Statistics on turtle deaths are expected to be released soon.

Anecdotal evidence indicates reef turtle populations are in crisis.

Girringun Aboriginal Corporation chief executive Phil Rist said traditional owners north and south of Townsville had found large numbers of dead turtles and some dugongs in recent weeks.

"I think Yasi was the straw that pretty broke the camel's back. These poor animals have been subjected subjected to so many threats, water quality, runoff and pesticides, coastal development, boat strikes," he told AAP.

"Now the seagrass they need to survive has been smashed by the biggest storm in living memory to hit us."

He said fisheries officers had reported 90 per cent of seagrass beds had been lost in the Cardwell and Tully area.

"Dead and starving turtles are being found in patches of two and three here, another four there. I'd be surprised if the numbers aren't very significant when you put them all together."

He said some local traditional owners were so concerned they had agreed voluntarily not to issue traditional hunting permits.

Barbara Gibbs, who lives on Magnetic Island off Townsville, says she's seen about 15 starving turtles and three dugongs since the beginning of June.

She said she recently came across a group of 10 turtles, ranging from babies to fully grown adults, that had come into the shallows to die.

"They had mossy green growing on their backs, they were really sedentary, right in the water around your feet," she told AAP.

"There's just no food for them after the cyclone. It's a really hard thing to see."

Other island residents had reported many more dead or sick turtles and dugongs, with similar sightings in places like Pallarenda, on the mainland north of Townsville.

Fred Nucifora, director of Reef HQ Aquarium, the national education centre for the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, said turtles were starving.

Reef HQ's Townsville-based turtle hospital was currently running at capacity with 15 turtles now in care.

"We're certainly seeing a lot more turtles at this point in time, than at the same time last year," he told AAP on Tuesday.

"The turtles that are presenting are highly emaciated, they are suffering from not having enough food."

The most common species brought to the hospital is the threatened green turtle.

As juveniles they are omnivores, but as they age they tend to favour herbivorous diets, and in their older years they almost exclusively eat sea grass.

WWF spokesman Cliff Cobbo said the extreme weather had added to existing threats to turtles.

" ... the combined pressure of more fishing nets, declining water quality and associated disease, on top of the loss of critical habitats as a result of large coastal developments have all undermined their chances of survival," he said.

Turtle researchers, vets rangers and wildlife carers met in Townsville in July to discuss the extraordinary number of sick and dead turtles washing ashore.

Among them, Dr Ellen Ariel, a senior lecturer at James Cook University's School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, cited a "massive increase" in turtles being found dead or dying.

The workshop was held to discuss what could be done to coordinate response plans to the crisis.

Comment was being sought from Environment Minister Vicky Darling.

Turtle crisis looms for Great Barrier Reef
WWF 10 Aug 11;

Queensland, Australia: WWF has received numerous reports from aboriginal groups on the north-eastern coast of Australia of large numbers of sick, starving and dead turtles washing up on beaches. The reports come following the loss of sea grasses after Cyclone Yasi and floods hit the area back in February.

The increase in turtle deaths for April may be more than five times higher this year compared to the same time last year.

“If these numbers are accurate, then this is a shocking development for the Great Barrier Reef​” said WWF’s Conservation on Country Manager Cliff Cobbo. “We urgently need clarification from the Queensland Government on how many turtles are being found dead along the Great Barrier Reef coast”.

Turtle hospitals in Townsville, Queensland are being overwhelmed with sick and starving animals and do not have the resources to handle the number of turtles expected to need emergency care over the next 18 months.

Some local aboriginal groups have been so concerned by what they are seeing they plan to suspend issuing hunting permits within their saltwater country.

CEO of the Girringun Aboriginal Corporation, Phil Rist, said large numbers of dead turtles and dugongs had been found in recent weeks and that strandings are occurring on a weekly basis.

Numerous threats

WWF believes recent extreme weather events like Cyclone Yasi and the Queensland floods, together with threats such as entanglement in fishing nets, water pollution and large-scale coastal developments have led to this increase in deaths.

“In the past turtles have been healthy enough to deal with extreme weather events, but the combined pressure of more fishing nets, declining water quality and associated disease, on top of the loss of critical habitats as a result of large coastal developments have all undermined their chances of survival,” Cobbo said.

WWF is calling on both sides of Queensland politics to commit to building greater resilience in populations of threatened marine species on the Great Barrier Reef through reforming net fisheries, reducing land-based pollution on the reef, and better managing large coastal developments.

WWF’s Global Marine Turtle Programme

Six of the seven species of marine turtle are classified as endangered or critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources​ (IUCN).

WWF has been working on marine turtle conservation for nearly 50 years and has provided a Global Marine Turtle Strategy to outline WWF priorities for marine turtle conservation.

The benefits of saving marine turtles go far beyond simply protecting these remarkable species.
Conservation efforts will make fisheries more sustainable and provide benefits to small communities and with marine turtles becoming increasingly important as an ecotourism attraction, a live turtle is worth more than a dead turtle.