Habitat critical to the survival of marine turtles in Australian waters

In Australia, all six species of marine turtles that occur in our waters are protected under the Australian Government's Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) and various State and Northern Territory legislation.

Flatback Turtle (Natator depressus) Green Turtle (Chelonia mydas) Hawksbill Turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) Leatherback Turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) Loggerhead Turtle (Caretta caretta) Olive Ridley Turtles (Lepidochelys olivacea)

Under section 270(2)(d) of the EPBC Act, 'Habitat critical to the survival of the listed threatened species' must be identified in the Recovery Plan for Marine Turtles. The criteria for describing habitat critical to the survival of a species for marine turtles was determined in accordance with the EPBC Act Significant Impact Guidelines 1.1 - Matters of National Environmental Significance. The guidelines define 'habitat critical to the survival of a species' as areas necessary: • activities such as foraging, breeding or dispersal • for the long-term maintenance of the species (including the maintenance of species essential to the survival of the species) • to maintain genetic diversity and long term evolutionary development • for the reintroduction of populations or recovery of the species.

The mapped areas were identified by consensus of a panel of experts in marine turtle biology.Data is licenced under the department's restrictive Data Licence Deed © Commonwealth of Australia (Australian Government Department of the Environment and Energy) 2018 Data is in draft format only Departmental Deed Data is licenced under the department's restrictive Data Licence Deed