Jurisdiction

Jurisdictions

The commercial trawling industry has some incidental by-catch of marine turtles.

Many agencies and organisations are involved in matters related to turtle and dugong conservation. Among various agencies there are often overlapping areas of jurisdiction, either geographically, legislatively or in terms of tasks undertaken.

Part of the reason for developing this strategy is to encourage key interests, governmental or otherwise, to focus on agreed issues to gain maximum benefit from projects undertaken, so that various roles are more readily and publicly recognised.

The main agency responsibilities related to the GBRMP are:

Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority is responsible for management of the GBRMP and has wide powers in the area. The Authority has a strong influence in the GBR Region and GBR World Heritage Area. GBRMPA is recognised internationally as a leader in marine conservation matters.
Queensland Department of Environment and Heritage
has powers in Queensland National and Marine Parks, including strong conservation powers within Queensland territorial waters (within 3 nautical miles of the Queensland coastline as legally defined). QDEH is influential nationally and regionally with regards to conservation matters.
Australian Nature Conservation Agency has strong conservation powers in Australia, extending to seas between 3 and 200 nautical miles from the coastline. ANCA is influential regarding conservation matters in Australia and internationally.
Queensland Department of Primary Industries & Fisheries, including the Queensland Boating and Fisheries Patrol, has enforcement and management powers that extend throughout Queensland, including State marine waters. Commonwealth powers out to 200 nautical miles have been delegated to QDPI/QB&FP, in some matters. The Queensland Fish Management Authority exercises the day-to-day management of fisheries in Queensland.

GBRMPA has clear jurisdictional powers in the GBRMP that are best complemented by agreed actions in adjacent Queensland waters and lands and beyond the Marine Park, to 200 nautical miles. Ideally, what occurs in the GBRMP should be one of a series of actions in Queensland, Australian and international waters to conserve turtles and dugongs.

This strategy seeks to:

encourage action in the GBRMP, that will in turn promote wider action, to conserve turtles and dugongs;
develop initiatives through the core programs of agencies and groups, rather than establishing special programs for turtles and dugongs. This is to consolidate work already undertaken, while continuing to encourage the principle that species conservation cannot be done in isolation to habitat protection and raising environmental awareness;
establish a Turtle and Dugong Review Group to:
- review and advise on conservation and management actions, both current and proposed;
- represent the views of interested agencies and the community when reviewing actions;
- advise agencies and other interested parties on technical matters, including research needs and priorities; and
devise and make recommendations about funding and administrative matters as required.

The proposed GBRMP Turtle and Dugong Review Group would be convened and chaired by GBRMPA staff, with representation invited from: