TOURISTS have watched on in horror as turtles have been slaughtered in a popular holiday location in the Far North.

Tourism operators are now calling for increased public debate about the traditional hunting of green sea turtles and dugongs and are seeking a ban on the practice in key tourist locations.

They said killings happened often enough to distress visitors and send the wrong message around the world.

Visitors to Green Island on Friday were confronted with a number of speared turtle carcasses left at the popular tourist island.

Two weeks ago, tourists said they saw fins being cut off turtles on an island beach.

A ranger at the park was also believed to have been threatened for asking traditional hunters not to kill marine animals in front of tourists.

The island attracts about 300,000 visitors a year.

Located about 30km from Cairns, Green Island is used for traditional hunting and fishing under the Native Title Act of 1993.

Indigenous leaders said they could self-regulate their traditional hunting practices.

Traditional owners of the area, also known as Wunyami, have hunted there for thousands of years.

Big Cat Green Island Reef Cruises tourism operator Steve Davies yesterday called for a ban on hunting turtles and dugongs in popular tourist areas.

Mr Davies also called for a return to the customary traditional hunting practices of using canoes instead of motorised vessels.

"Traditional methods of hunting for retaining their culture is great but roaring out on to the Reef in great big boats, with large outboard motors and spotlights is not traditional hunting at all," he said.

"Last year, a dugong and turtle were killed in front of 300 passengers on the Big Cat.

"It was just horrific, with blood everywhere and passengers crying. People were just devastated.

"The pictures these tourists take are being filtered all over the world."

North Queensland Land Council’s Danny O’Shane said he did not support a moratorium on hunting.

He said with between 70 and 90 per cent unemployment across some indigenous communities, such as Yarrabah, indigenous families relied on the practice for fresh meat.

"I think Australia should be more inclusive," he said.

"We are a hunting people and if tourists come to this place they must understand this has been our way of life for a long time.

"I don’t know if it does cause tourists to drop off, I think very few know about it, if any. I think the concern is
money."

Former tourism employee Dominic Eggins said the killing of the endangered marine animals was difficult to explain to local and international visitors.

"It’s a really hard sell when you’re trying to tell people this is a beautiful pristine area, a marine park within the Great Barrier Reef where everything is protected and you can’t even take shells off the beach," Mr Eggins said.

"And just over there we’ve got some people in a boat traditionally hunting and killing dugongs and turtles."

The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority in conjunction with traditional owners, has produced a brochure for local tourism operators of "how to tell the story" of traditional hunting and native title to visitors.

The brochure advises tourism operators to discuss the law that recognises Native Title Holders’ rights.

"Many traditional owner groups have taken active steps to limit the take of turtle and dugong and in some cases have voluntarily agreed to temporarily suspend take of these species," a GBRMPA spokesman said.

Last month Environment Minister Vicky Darling praised two Far Northern Aboriginal tribes, the Nywaigi and Girramay people, for suspending hunting permits until turtle and dugong numbers recovered.

The latest data on turtle populations show there were 1232 turtle strandings in 2011, compared with 639 last year.

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