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By John Mikkelsen
Turtle nests on some Gladstone district beaches are likely to have been destroyed by extensive erosion in the wake of ex-Tropical Cyclone Olga earlier this month.
An inspection of nesting areas on Wild Cattle Island at the weekend showed the king tides, backed up by Olga, have eroded several metres of the dune front and washed out she-oak trees along a stretch known to have been visited by nesting turtles.
Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service Marine Parks senior technical officer Damon Shearer yesterday said similar damage was likely to have occurred along Lillies Beach at Boyne Island, but so far no reports of extensive erosion had been received from major local nesting areas on Curtis and Facing islands.
Mr Shearer said there were not a lot of turtles nesting on Wild Cattle compared with beaches on Curtis and Facing, or at Wreck Rock.
“There are probably 10 or 15 a year there. We see nests and where hatchlings have come out, but it is not a high-priority site, along with Lillies Beach,” he said.
“We do keep an eye on it though, mainly from a weed growth perspective.”
Mr Shearer said nests there were likely to have been destroyed unless nesting turtles had been able to get up on top of the banks.
“They would pretty much be finished nesting by now, so it would mainly affect hatchlings. Flatbacks and loggerheads have probably already hatched, greens are sometimes later, but it has been a quiet year for greens,” he said.
In contrast, the department’s chief scientist, marine and freshwater ecology, Dr Colin Limpus had reported a big year for loggerheads, particularly in one of the state’s major hatcheries at Mon Repos, near Bundaberg.
Volunteers who monitor nesting activity on Curtis and Facing Island had also reported good numbers of flatbacks visiting the beaches there.
“The volunteers go over and stay for a month or so but we haven’t had any reports back of significant erosion affecting the nests,” Mr Shearer said.
Trying to move turtle eggs out of harms way was not always an answer either, as it could kill the unborn hatchlings.
He said a baiting program to stop foxes disturbing nests on the islands also appeared to have had some success this year, with very minimal disturbances reported.
Meanwhile, rangers at Mon Repos beach reported extensive losses as a result of the cyclone and erosion from king tides.
More than 1000 eggs were feared lost, according to recent news reports.
Rangers and volunteers were able to save 60 nests when big seas eroded the dunes, but a further 90 nests were lost.
Ranger in charge Cathy Gatley said after the cyclone it had been “a tough few days” at Mon Repos.
“We did get very buffeted by the winds and waves,” she told the ABC. “On the Monday we had probably 100 nests affected of our loggerhead turtles along the coast, and of those about 50 were rescued and relocated to higher ground.”
Researchers working on a remote Cape York island were also concerned about the impact of strong winds and big tides recently.
David Roe, from the Sea Turtle Foundation, said early results showed numbers for the critically endangered hawksbill turtle were steady. High tides were creating vertical walls of sand, making it hard for turtles to nest.
“The fear is with rising sea levels and increased heights of storm surges we can expect to see more of that type of erosion of suitable nesting beaches for turtles,” he said.
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