Hobbies And Interests
Sea turtle
Six of the seven species of marine turtles reside in Australia's waters. The loggerhead and green turtle are the most commonly seen but there are other less common species such as the leatherback and Olive Ridley. Green sea turtles are categorized as "Endangered" by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List also known as the World Conservation Union. Sea turtles are declining in numbers due to poaching for their eggs, shells and meat, declining habitat or killing by anglers and boats.
Humpback whale
Humpback whales come from Antarctica to the Great Barrier Reef between May and September. Listed as "Vulnerable" on the IUCN Red List, Humpback whales are threatened by pollution, hunting, accidents with ships and entanglement in fishing gear. Their numbers drastically decreased before the 1970s from around 25,000 animals to between 200 and 500 due to large-scale whaling in the earlier decades. Since they've enjoyed protection, estimates of the humpback whale population increased from 10,000 to 12,000 in 2007.
Dugong
Otherwise known as the sea cow due to feeding methods of grazing on sea grass beds, the dugong is particularly threatened due to its slow breeding rate. Only about one calf is born to a female cow every three to five years, so they are susceptible to environmental changes and can't reproduce quickly enough. Threatened mostly by pollution of their food source, dugong also easily entangle in angler's nets.
Coral
Even though it doesn't move and seems plentiful, coral in the Great Barrier Reef is still considered a living thing and needs protection. One school of thought believes that human activities cause the earth to warm up, which in turn causes sea temperatures to increase. Rising sea temperatures would not allow the coral to survive.
Protection
Many of the threats surrounding these and other endangered species are natural and caused by changes in the environment, such as fluctuating salinity levels, ocean temperatures and the presence of predators, however, in addition to these threats there are also man-made threats such as boats, pollution and fishing nets. The Great Barrier Marine Park works with other organizations in protecting the animals in the reef from any further environmental damage from pollution, tourism, overfishing or invasive species. There are varying levels of endangerment from "Vulnerable" to "Critically Endangered," but all the endangered species living in the Great Barrier Reef are protected by law at either an international, national, state or local level, and are the primary focus of the Park's conservation efforts.