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The Australian Marine Conservation Society is launching a campaign to save our sea turtles.

Here are a few facts that may interest you and may inspire you to take action to save these magnificent creatures:

Australia is the one of the few countries in the world that has six of the world's seven species of sea turtle.

No other place in Australia is so important for these ancient mariners; not the Galapagos Islands, not even Hawaii.

We are so privileged, but most of us are blissfully unaware of how important northern Australia is to this endangered family of ocean wanderers, who have been swimming our seas for over 200 million years.

Sea Turtles found in Australian Waters

Our tropical seas across Northern Australia are particularly crucial, with five of our six species laying their eggs on Northern Territory's sandy beaches. The Top End's beaches are so important for nesting that a staggering 100 different turtle tracks have been counted along a single one kilometre stretch of beach in the Gulf of Carpentaria.

But incredibly, our very own global haven for sea turtles is under threat and our sea turtles are in danger.

Each year hundreds of turtles drown in discarded, drifting 'ghost nets' or active fishing gear. If the nets don't catch them, sea turtles are killed by boat strikes or choked by plastic bags. During egg laying season, clutches are eaten by feral pigs or foxes.

Yet staggeringly, less than 1% of our sea turtles' habitat is protected. Having swum our blue oceans for over 200 million years, species like our flatback turtle, which only nest on northern Australia's beaches and islands, are in real danger - under our watch.

How did this happen?

Northern Australia is of global importance for sea turtles and one of their last remaining refuges.

However, the Northern Territory Government has failed to deliver protection for turtle nesting beaches or their habitat in NT waters. With the government now finally considering a strategy for protecting the Northern Territory's seas, the Australian Marine Conservation Society needs your help to convince them to save our sea turtles by protecting their nesting, breeding and play grounds in a network of marine sanctuaries. Marine sanctuaries not only save our sea turtles but help other northern wildlife including dugongs and dolphins.

Please email the Northern Territory Chief Minister Paul Henderson and ask him to deliver a network of marine sanctuaries across the Top End to save our turtles.

Click here to send your letter.