The Arafura and Timor Seas (ATS) are part of the North Australian Shelf large marine ecosystem, a tropical marine area located between the Pacific and Indian Oceans. The region extends from the Timor Sea to the Torres Strait and includes the Arafura Sea and the Gulf of Carpentaria. Bordering the Coral Triangle, epicenter of the…
This project on assessing the status, scope and trends of the legal and illegal international trade in marine turtles, its conservation impacts, management options and mitigation priorities contributes to the implementation of CITES Decisions 17.222 and 17.223 on Hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) and other marine turtles (Cheloniidae and Dermochelyidae). This project was undertaken in collaboration with…
Marine turtles are integral components of marine ecosystems in the Arabian region, and a conservation priority of national and regional conservation programmes, as their populations are globally under threat. Even though Green turtles (Chelonia mydas) are the most abundant sea turtle species in this region, a small number of protected areas exist which encompass different…
Pacific leatherback turtle populations have declined alarmingly over the past 25 years, and for management and recovery efforts to be effective, obtaining accurate estimates of current abundance and distribution of critical habitats is essential. In some locations there are summer nesting turtles which remain unstudied and which are of particular interest to conservationists today, as…
This project entails four inter-linked components to further the understanding of the biology and ecology of sea turtles in the SSME, upon which National policy decisions and the expansion of the Tri-National Network of Protected Areas may be based. Each component addresses critical biological and reproductive traits of turtles that have previously not been studied in the SSME, and together they form a cohesive research programme which complements National projects within the Sulu Sulawesi Tri-National Sea Turtle Corridor initiative
