Green Turtles and the Torres Strait

For millennia, the Meriam Nation people of the eastern Torres Strait have shared a deep spiritual and cultural connection with green turtles – an important totem woven into their identity, island custom and stewardship of their Sea Country. Today, that connection is driving critical, science-based action to protect green turtles in the northern Great Barrier Reef, where rising sand temperatures and habitat loss due to climate change have led to low hatchling production and feminisation of hatchlings at key nesting sites, including at the world’s largest green turtle rookery - Raine Island. To help safeguard green turtles for future generations, Meriam Nation Traditional Owners are working alongside scientists and government agencies through the Great Barrier Reef Green Turtle Research Program – collecting important information on the northern green turtle population to guide better management and conservation outcomes for this species going forward. This project is one of five delivered under the Great Barrier Reef Green Turtle Research Program. It is being proudly delivered in partnership with the Meriam Nation Traditional Custodians of the eastern Torres Strait, as well as the Kuuku Ya’u Traditional Owners of the Portland Roads region, Cape York Peninsula. The program is funded through the Australian Government’s Reef Trust and implemented by the Reef Authority and the Department of the Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation’s Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service.