TURTLE nesting season has commenced and local animal protection groups are calling on the community to help protect nests, hatchlings and laying turtles.
All seven species of the world’s sea turtles are endangered, six of which live in Australia, but Coolum and North Shore Turtle Group volunteer Adrienne Savage said everyone could help protect the turtles.
“Many people aren’t aware that from November to March we have nesting turtles right here on the Sunshine Coast,” she said.
“Female loggerhead and green sea turtles return to our sandy shores some 30 years after they have hatched to lay their eggs and begin the cycle again.
“Each female turtle nesting on our beaches has survived a long journey from her birth on a Queensland beach at least 30 years ago. In that time she has crosses the ocean to South America and back.”
Adrienne said the survival rate for sea turtles from birth to age 30 was about one in 1000 hatchlings, but the good news was the community could help to protect the turtles.
Turtles pick a nesting site as high up the beach as possible, before laying eggs and using the sand as an incubator and the only way to tell if a sea turtle has visited the beach to nest, is to keep an eye out for their tracks.
“The tracks look similar to quad bike tyre marks in the sand and will go from the water’s edge up to the dune and back again,” Adrienne said.
If you see a nesting turtle, Adrienne said it was important to turn off any torches, keep your distance and remain still.
“Nesting turtles are very easily spooked, so they will turn around and go back to sea and may dump their clutch of eggs in the ocean,” she said.
“Please contact Coolum and North Shore Coast Care (CNSCC) immediately if you see a nesting turtle as we may be able to tag her or record any existing tags once she has completed laying.
“Plus, we’ll be able to guide you on how to watch the turtle safely without disturbing her while she lays.”
Reporting the location of turtle nests helps CNSCC protect the eggs from foxes, extreme weather events as well as council works and other activities that would endanger the nest if the location was not reported.
If you see turtle tracks on your local beach, please call the Coolum and North Shore Coast Care group turtle volunteers on 0409 807 110 or 0403 370 157, or visit www.coolumcoastcare.org.au for more information.
