<p>New satellite tracking of hawksbill turtles has revealed the critically endangered species use the Coral Sea as a highway to travel from Papua New Guinea to the Great Barrier Reef.</p><p>This exacerbates concerns over the Australian government’s draft plan to reduce the Coral Sea’s protected areas by 50 per cent, WWF said</a>. The WWF stated that the findings were “alarming”.</p><p>Hawksbills turtle numbers were depleted by almost 90 per cent over 100 years</a> due to tortoiseshell trade, prior to a worldwide ban on the activity in 1977. The species never managed to make a recovery.</p><p>The satellite trackers were attached to 10 hawksbills between December 2017 and January 2018 as part of a research expedition in Papua New Guinea’s Conflict Islands, conducted by WWF Australia, the University of the Sunshine Coast and the Conflict Island Conservation Initiative. Credit: WWF Australia via Storyful</p><br />
