Endangered green turtle hatchlings thriving on great barrier reef qld news 20200918 p5xyjc.html – Breaking News & Latest Updates 2026
Advertisement
Advertisement
This was published 6 years ago

Endangered green turtle hatchlings thriving on Great Barrier Reef

9News Staff and Katarina Stefanovic

Powered by

Some 640,000 turtle hatchlings are thriving on the Great Barrier Reef thanks to a five-year recovery project on Raine Island.

Environmentalists feared the globally endangered northern green turtle would soon be extinct.

The population was dropping due to nests flooding and fewer hatchlings surviving harsh tides.

Advertisement

A recovery project has helped turtles in Queensland. 9News

The small coral cay can be spotted on the northern tip of the Great Barrier Reef and it's where 90 per cent of the reef's entire green turtle population comes from.

Traditional owners, the Queensland Park and Wildlife Service and Great Barrier Marine Park Authority have been working together to save almost 700 turtle mothers.

Baby turtle numbers are rising. 9News

It's hoped millions more hatchlings will emerge on the island over the next decade, creating a stable future for the island's vital ecosystem.

Earlier this year Australian researchers captured beautiful aerial footage of thousands of green turtles congregating on the edge of the Great Barrier Reef as they prepared to nest.

email icon

Contact us

Share a tip-off, video or photo with us

Most viewed in Australia

More to explore