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Fighting to save Cape York's Sea Turtles
Life's tough for a sea turtle hatchling at the best of times - it only has a one in 1,000 chance of survival.
And for turtles on western Cape York Peninsula there's another threat, with research showing a high percentage of nests being destroyed by feral pigs and dingoes.
Egg-laying efforts stand little chance against the skill of these animals who, if they don't immediately feast on eggs, wait through the night and pick off the baby turtles one at a time as they hatch.
Dr Col Limpus, Senior Principal Conservation Officer with the Queensland Environmental Protection Agency, does not believe turtle populations are sustainable with current predation pressures on nests and hatchlings.
Funding
The Australian Government has put $150,000 towards a Turtle Nest Predation Monitoring Program administered by Cape York Peninsula Development Association (CYPDA). Support has also been provided by the State Government.
This project complements research being conducted by Dr Limpus, with monitoring part of a wider program involving feral animal control funded by the Queensland Department of Natural Resources and Water.
Activities
A recent large-scale aerial shoot destroyed 7,500 pigs in specially targeted areas on the coast. Monitoring nests before and after shoots will help determine how effective this is in protecting the turtles.
Brian Benham, Natural Resource Management Coordinator for the Cape York region, said Traditional Owners are being trained and employed as part-time rangers in five key areas as an important part of the monitoring program.
"CYPDA are coordinating the employment of two rangers in each of five turtle 'hot spot' areas with high levels of nesting, stretching from Napranum up to Prince of Wales Island in the Torres Strait," he said.
"The turtles include the endangered Hawkesbill, Olive Ridley, and Flatback.
"Every morning the rangers traverse selected beaches and identify the tracks of species coming ashore. They mark nests with GPS equipment, identify them with pegs and take photos of tracks. If the nest is attacked by predators the species involved can be identified by the tracks.
"In most cases the Indigenous Rangers have been very surprised at the levels of predation."
Despite the difficulties, community concern about the issue is growing and more Traditional Owners are volunteering to help the rangers.
More information
- Brian Benham, CYDPA NRM Coordinator: brian.benham@cypda.com.au
- Cape York Turtle Rescue
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