THE IMPACT of TRAWLIN

摘要

In July 2005, the Queensland Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries (QDPI&F) commenced a three year research project to investigate the impact of the Queensland East Coast Trawl Fishery (QECTF) on sea snakes. The project is jointly funded by the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (FRDC) and the QDPI&F. Sea snakes (family: Hydrophiidae) are the only marine reptiles to spend their entire lives in the water. They are found only in the Indian and Pacific oceans and then mostly in warm, shallow, inshore waters. Of the world's 54 described species of sea snake, 37 occur in Australian waters - 11 of which exist nowhere else. Australia's sea snakes therefore represent a diverse and unique fauna, and are thus protected in this country. The status of sea snake populations in Australian coastal waters is uncertain.