Blogs

There are 7 species of sea turtle found worldwide, 6 of which are found in Australia and all are recorded in Gold Coast waters. Marine turtles are reptiles, they crawl up the beach to lay their eggs in the sand. Loggerhead sea turtles and Green sea turtles have both been recorded nesting on Gold Coast beaches.

Marine turtles use both the marine and terrestrial environments to complete different stages in their life cycle, this makes them even more vulnerable to many anthropogenic threats including entanglement, marine debris, ocean pollution, poaching and illegal trade, global warming, predation from domestic animals, and boat strike, just to name a few! Read more.

Volunteers, belonging to the TurtleCare Volunteer Program, implement ongoing marine turtle monitoring program for nesting activity on the Coast's beaches. The goal is to identify and record species, nesting locations, frequency and success rates of nesting activity. Once the volunteers find the egg chamber, the next step is to install special mesh over the nest to prevent predators getting access.

“More than 250 Turtle volunteers across the Sunshine Coast are expecting to see turtle tracks during their early morning local beach patrols any day now,” Sunshine Coast Council’s TurtleCare Conservation Officer Kate Hofmeister says.

But, TurtleCare isn't the only program! The Coolum and North Shore CoastCare group have TurtleCare Rainbow Beach. And TurtleWatch Gold Coast is a partnership between Watergum and Sea World who have joined forces to fill the data gap on nesting turtles. 

🌊🌊🌊

Want to join TurtleWatch at Paradise Point this #CoastcareWeek22?
Join TurtleWatch for a guided turtle walk that runs simultaneously whilst rubbish is removed from turtle nesting habitats. As we collect rubbish, a TurtleWatch representative will run through how to conduct TurtleWalk so attendees can conduct their own independently and contribute to turtle data! This event is a great way to improve your turtle knowledge as well as the techniques used to monitor turtle activity here on the Gold Coast. Read more

🌊🌊🌊🌊


What can you do to help the flippers make their journey?
This year’s hatchlings have a one in 1000 chance of surviving to adulthood, so it's vital we do everything we can to ensure we don't worsen their odds!

Less nests are expected this year, due to extended La Nina weather patterns and previous year's unsuccessful nesting attempts extending from poor dune conditions. Sand dunes are a vital habitat for a wealth of rare and specialised wildlife, including our endangered sea turtle hatchlings, birds, insects, and flora which require a bare sand habitat to survive - to protect them, please avoid walking, playing, allowing dogs on them. The turtles thank you!

A dark beach is the best way to attract nesting turtles to local beaches, as adult and hatchling turtles are extremely sensitive to artificial light. Meaning, it's important for residents near the beach to turn off any unnecessary external lighting at night. 

The most important thing, however... is to report turtle sightings AND stay off sand dunes! To report turtle tracks, new nests and emerging hatchlings on the southern end of the coast, call Sunshine Coast Council’s TurtleCare hotline 0437 559 067 or 1300 130 372 (Option 1). For sightings from Mooloolaba north, call Coolum and North Shore Coast Care on 0478 435 377.

Tips for hatchling emergences:

• Switch off torches, cameras or phones as light disorientates the hatchlings and wastes their energy supply.
• Allow the hatchlings to emerge and move to the beach naturally, without your help. Hatchlings orientate to the earths magnetic field during their trip to the water.
• Leave the protective mesh on the nest, this will protect the nest from predators.
• Do not touch or try to move an egg or turtle! A pink 'X' on the shell means it was reported already.

Tips for monitoring an emerging nest:
Sea Turtle nests can emerge in the cool of the evening from January through to April of each year. Incubation periods vary according to weather conditions and local sand temperatures and can be quite unpredictable.

• Want to become a TurtleCare volunteer? Read more here. At the start of every turtle season, there is an opportunity to join TurtleCare. You can registered your interest, or sign up online to apply to become a TurtleCare volunteer.
• Watch this video to find about the valuable work done by TurtleCare volunteers on the Sunshine Coast! Or check out their Facebook page or Twitter account. 

• Become a Turtle Research Volunteer! A highly trained volunteer who can tag turtles, relocate eggs from at-risk nests & dig nests after hatching to record scientific data. Training: 7 days at Mon Repos Turtle Research Centre every year during turtle nesting season (Dec - March).
• Become a Volunteer Turtle Spotter! While you are walking in the early morning, you can be looking for turtle tracks or hatchlings and reporting them to our project leader. Even sightings of dead turtles or egg shells are useful data for our research! Learn how to spot the tracks of a nesting turtle during your beach walks, identify the species from the tracks and take a photo & submit it to TurtleCare. Training: Free local 30 minute briefing with TurtleCare Trainer.
• Become an Interested Bystander! Follow us on Facebook & attend public events like hatchings and information sessions.

Do you walk a stretch of the Gold Coast beaches on a regular basis? Great, we need your help! Turtle nesting season starts each year in November and will run until about the end of March and we need the Gold Coast community to watch out and record sightings of turtles and turtle tracks. 

Before you sign up to become a TurtleWatch walker we will teach you how to spot turtle tracks of a nesting turtle, how to identify the different species and how to enter your data to our TurtleWatch citizen science database.

TurtleWatch training is compulsory and will tell you everything you need to know about marine turtles and about how to conduct a reliable and successful TurtleWatch walk. Training is held monthly at various locations.

For more info please email: turtlewatch@watergum.org