Pittwater Council Website

Pittwater Council Vision - To be a vibrant sustainable community of connected villages inspired by bush, beach and water.

The following access keys are available throughout the Pittwater Council site. "m" will take you to the main content, "n" will take you to the site navigation, "s" will take you to the site search form and "t" will take you to the top of the page.

Main Content

Marine Species

Dugong - Loggerhead Turtle - Southern Giant Petrel - Wandering Albatross

Conservation Status

All listed as Endangered in New South Wales on the Threatened Species Conservation Act. Nationally the Southern Giant Petrel and Loggerhead Turtle are listed as Endangered and Migratory and the Wandering Albatross is listed as Vulnerable and Migratory.

Dugong

It is a marine mammal that mostly feeds on seagrass. They can live for up to 70 years. Although Dugongs do not appear to breed in NSW waters, the seagrass beds provide important refuge for the visiting individuals. This species is threatened by coastal development and poor catchment management, resulting in siltation and loss of seagrass beds.

Southern Giant Petrel

An oceanic bird that commonly visits the New South Wales coast, the species breeds on Antarctic and subantarctic islands during Summer. This Petrel is significantly threatened by longline fishing, loss of cuttlefish populations, oil spills, predation by feral cats and black rats, as well as habitat destruction and hunting in some parts of their range.

Loggerhead Turtle

This oceanic turtle is distributed throughout the world. It is the world’s largest hard-shelled turtle and spends most of its life in saltwater and estuarine habitats. It is omnivorous, feeding mainly on bottom dwelling invertebrates. Threats include untended fishing gear (when swallowed it causes many deaths) and also fishing trawls (when trapped they suffocate).

Wandering Albatross

The Albatross is an oceanic species that has been recorded off the coast of Australia from Fremantle in Western Australia, around the South Coast and up to the Whitsundays in Queensland. They feed on fish, cephalopods, crustaceans and carrion. Long line fishing, ingestion of marine debris and rubbish are examples of threats to the species.

Updated: 21 Jun 2011