In Queensland, what legislative changes or modifications need to be implemented in relation to light pollution problems for nesting sea turtles and hatchlings?

In Queensland, what legislative changes or modifications need to be implemented in relation to light pollution problems for nesting sea turtles and hatchlings?

Australia supports globally the largest remaining populations of marine turtles, and six of the world’s seven species are found in Queensland and Western Australian waters. However, Australia's human population is heavily concentrated in coastal regions with an increase in residential and commercial development and therefore an increase in artificial lighting. Since breeding marine turtles and hatchlings are vulnerable to disorientation from artificial lighting adjacent to nesting areas, it is important that good planning and management strategies are applied to the location and design of proposals that could potentially disrupt turtle breeding success. The purpose of this report is to establish the type of regulations that are in place in Queensland to protect vulnerable and endangered nesting marine turtles and hatchlings from artificial lighting and to recommend possible legislative changes or modification to avoid, reduce, mitigate and manage the negative impact. Research for this project included an in depth review of the current literature on the risk of coastal light pollution on marine turtles from residential and commercial development and interviews with stakeholders from diverse backgrounds. The assessment indicates that currently there is no legislation governing light pollution near turtle breeding areas on state level in Queensland and any concerns are addressed via arrangements directly with individual councils. Therefore it is recommended that the Queensland Government develops and implements legislations with the aim to protect the endangered marine turtle species along the Queensland coast.

Queensland Parliamentary Internship Research Report.
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