Endangered hawksbill turtles tracked in marine park to be opened to fishing

Data confirms that reptiles use Coral Sea as a highway between their nesting beaches and feeding grounds

Critically endangered hawksbill turtles that nest on islands east of Papua New Guinea have been tracked moving across parts of the Coral Sea marine park where the Australian government wants to allow commercial fishing, conservationists have found.

Ten of the turtles were tagged at the privately owned Conflict Islands in early January, with seven swimming across the Coral Sea to the Great Barrier Reef to feed.