Queensland's largest volunteer turtle rehabilitation centre opened on Fitzroy Island yesterday, an extension of the existing turtle hospital in Cairns. 

The new facility, a 45 minute ferry ride from Cairns, was made possible with support from the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) last year. The organisation announced yesterday an additional $7500 to fund ongoing costs associated with the treatment of sick or injured turtles.

WWF-Australia Species Conservation Project Coordinator Christine Hof said that turtle populations on the Great Barrier Reef, a World Heritage marine protected area, are exibiting increasing levels of ill health and injury and have stranded in record numbers over the past three years.

“The Great Barrier Reef should be a safe haven for turtles. Instead, their habitat is shrinking, their feeding grounds are being smothered by polluted run-off and they are also forced to contend with fishing net entanglement, marine debris ingestion, and boat strikes," she said. 

“We need to know more about these threatened creatures. What’s making them sick? What can we do to help?

“Facilities like the Turtle Rehabilitation Centre provide researchers with an opportunity to study turtles more closely. The more we learn about them, the better chance we have of protecting them."