Sea Shepherd Australia - Marine Debris Campaign
Moreton Island (Mulgumpin) Remote Beach Clean-up
In 2019 and 2020, Sea Shepherd volunteers travelled to Moreton Island (Mulgumpin), 40 kilometres north east of Brisbane, undertaking an extensive remote beach clean-up.
The third largest sand island in the world, Mulgumpin and its surrounding waters have high conservation value hosting the most extensive intertidal areas of seagrass, mangrove and saltmarsh communities on the eastern coast of Australia, supporting dolphins, turtles, dugong, whales and migratory birds.
Over the course of the clean-ups, our volunteer crew have removed over 1.5 tonnes of debris from the beaches across Mulgumpin, protecting marine life and their habitats from marine plastic pollution.
Read more about our 2020 clean-up
Mulgumpin is home to six of the seven turtle species found worldwide, and the Moreton Bay Marine Park has one of the most important feeding areas for loggerhead turtles on the east coast of Australia. However, despite the dire need for protection of these areas, ongoing risks of entanglements and plastic ingestion threaten Queensland’s turtles.
During the second annual beach clean-up of Mulgumpin (Moreton Island), Sea Shepherd Australia volunteers discovered the body of a vulnerable green turtle, killed by a crab pot and beached on the island’s western shores.
Sea Shepherd received approval to conduct the clean-up by the traditional custodians of Mulgumpin, the Quandamooka Yoolooburrabee Aboriginal Corporation and Moreton Island National Park management. We have a strong working relationship and consider our partnership important in the ongoing protection and preservation of Mulgumpin and Quandamooka country.