Q&A: Why mark World Turtle Day?

23 May 2012, 6:51 pm   -   Source: Una Butorac, SBS
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(Getty)

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Turtles have existed for over 100 million years, and play a vital role in maintaining the health of the world’s oceans.

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Amelia Grant is an aquarist at the Melbourne Aquarium.

She spoke to SBS on World Turtle Day about the dangers faced by the  ancient species and the conservation methods in place to keep them alive.

Q: What does World Turtle Day hope to achieve?

A: The purpose of world turtle day is to celebrate and educate about turtles.  The day hopes to achieve awareness about protecting turtles, as well as increase knowledge and respect for them.

Q: Why are turtles important to our ecosystem?

A: Turtles have existed for over 100 million years and play a vital role in maintaining the health of the world’s oceans. They help to balance marine food webs and maintain healthy sea grass beds and coral reefs.

Q: What are some of the dangers threatening turtles in Australia?

A: Initially the threat to turtles was from direct fishing.  These days threats include commercial fishing (accidental capture), climate change, habitat degradation, predation of turtle eggs (by foxes, feral pigs and dogs) and pollution.

Q: What conservation measures are in place to protect turtles and how effective are they?

A: Conservation measures that are in place to help protect turtles are:
- All of the 6 species of marine turtle found in Australian waters are protected
- There is a National Recovery Plan for Marine Turtles in Australia, which provides research and management actions to help stop the decline of sea turtles and also to support the recovery.
- Commercial fishing methods are being improved, such as the Northern Prawn trawl fishery which now has TED's (turtle exclusion devices) which allows a captured sea turtle to escape when trapped. 

Turtle

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Your Comments

Happy World Turtle Day from North Korea

ZBL - from Pyongyang, 1 year

Prized trophy? There is one lonely sea turtle swimming constricted laps in a depressingly slim tank in the lobby of the Yanggakdo Hotel in Pyongyang... Happy World Turtle Day from North Korea

barrier reef

mark - from moonta, 1 year

habitat degradation mr palmer is about to use the barrier reef as a shiping lane this means dredging and the death of more marine life but the majority of the population dont care.Mans ability to destroy other speices never ends.

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