Help Us Learn More About Threats Facing Our Marine Animals

Did you know your reports to the EPA Hotline about incidents involving marine animals are compiled into annual reports?

These reports are used by management agencies to learn more about threats affecting marine mammals and turtles in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area.

The main source of knowledge about human-related factors affecting marine animals comes from the Enviromental Protection Agency's (EPA) StrandNet database of marine wildlife strandings and death. StrandNet shows when marine animals deaths occur due to human causes.

Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) Species Conservation Officer Rachel Pears said this knowledge was used to improve management actions that helped conserve our marine mammals and turtles.

"This database provides us with important information about whales, dolphins, turtles and dugongs, as well as the types of impacts affecting them," Rachel said.

"Some of the management actions we have been able to identify from the database include hotspots for boat strikes where go slow areas could be introduced and issues associated with turtles drowning in crab pots.

"This lead to discussions with the Queensland Fisheries Crab Management Advisory Committee about the opening sizes of the pots, as well as the identification of pollutants in dugongs leading to actions ujnder the Reef Water Quality Protection Plan.

"The database also provides information about the effectiveness of some management stragegies like zoning. Dugong Protection Areas and Turtle Excluder Devices, while helping us to monitor and identify new and emerging issues facing these species."

Rachel said the EPA Hotline played an important part in rescuing marine wildlife and an integral part of our information gathering about causes of injuries or death to marine wildlife.