Help close at hand for hunted dugongs, turtles

NEW laws are being prepared by the Coalition to provide stronger protection for dugongs and sea turtles from traditional hunters

NEW laws are being prepared by the Coalition to provide stronger protection for dugongs and sea turtles from traditional hunters.

Conservationists have been campaigning for years for a moratorium on the traditional take of the marine animals, claiming it is a practice that is being exploited by hunters using non-traditional weapons and equipment.

Federal MP for the Queensland seat of Leichhardt, Warren Entsch, said the Turnbull Government was preparing draft legislation to strengthen protection for turtles and dugongs along Australia’s eastern seaboard. He said it was not ready to be released publicly.

“I’ve got a copy of the draft legislation. I’m not happy with some elements of it, and I want to change them,” he said.

Australian conservationists have been campaigning for years for a moratorium on the traditional take of dugongs.

“I’ll be talking to the new (Environment) Minister (Josh Frydenberg) when he comes on board.

“I agree with the argument in the marine park: there needs to be a moratorium on the taking of these creatures, because they are listed as vulnerable.

“There has always been an argument about defending native title rights, as opposed to protecting these species, but in my view, unless we take firm action on this, there will be no arguments about native title rights because the target species won’t exist.”

Several indigenous communities restrict traditional take of the protected species through Traditional Use of Marine Resource Agreements.

But Mr Entsch said he wanted there to be a “total moratorium” to prevent turtles and dugongs from being taken in other areas.

“It’s more complicated when you get up into the Torres Strait where you get into the Papua New Guineans who don’t have any sort of welfare system and they rely it as part of their food source,” he said. “But there needs to be protections up there and we need to make sure that we enforce rules in relation to the appropriate take and educate hunters as to what they can and can’t take.”

Wildlife activist Colin Riddell said there needed to be a total ban on hunting in Australia’s marine parks. “It’s ridiculous that any animal or marine life is supposed to be in a sanctuary, and is still hunted,” he said. “How many people have been fined thousands of dollars for accidentally drifting into a marine park, into a green zone, yet people can still go in there and kill turtle and dugong?”