Tracking down turtles on the eastern Cape

The east coast of Cape York Peninsula and nearby offshore islands support some of the world’s most important marine turtle nesting sites, hosting significant populations of endangered green turtles (Chelonia mydas) and critically endangered hawksbill turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata).

However, major rookeries such as Raine Island and Milman Island face growing threats from sea level rise, tidal inundation and rising sand temperatures. On mainland Cape York, such climate-related threats are less intense due to higher elevation and vegetated beaches that offer shading. Here, the biggest threat to turtle nests is predation — particularly from feral pigs and goannas.

To better understand turtle activity and protect nests from predation, Cape York NRM is working with Indigenous ranger teams and the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service (QPWS) through the Eastern Cape York Turtle Conservation Project. The project focuses on improving hatchling survival through predator control, nest monitoring and targeted protection measures.

Flying into camp

Cape York NRM has supported feral pig control along the eastern Cape coast for several years and data from these operations has identified areas where high pig activity overlaps with turtle nesting.

One of these areas is the remote coastline around Bathurst Bay in Cape Melville National Park (Cape York Peninsula Aboriginal Land). To investigate further, rangers Adam Bowen and Nathan Bulmer from Cape Melville, Flinders & Howick Islands Aboriginal Corporation travelled to the area with Cape York NRM’s East Coast Turtle Conservation Project Officer, Scott Morrison. 

Wet season access is difficult, so the team joined a QPWS helicopter that was conducting other operations in the region at the time. After being dropped off on the beach, the team set up their remote camp, where they spent the next ten days monitoring turtle activity and collecting vital data. 

“It was good to see the country greening up in the wet season and to be working there while access was cut off,” Adam said.

Ten days and a new moon

The survey was deliberately timed around a new moon.

“A new moon increases your chance of seeing turtle activity because the nights are darker,” Scott said. “You also get higher tides, which can make nesting beaches easier for turtles to access.”

Beach patrols were carried out on foot and timed to coincide with the tides, with the initial patrols beginning at sunset and then continuing to follow the high tide into the night or early morning.

Over the course of the trip, the team carried out 19 patrols across the northern and southern beaches, walking approximately 130 kilometres along an eight-kilometre stretch of coastline.

Results from the trip

The team’s monitoring efforts recorded a mix of nesting activity and predator impacts. Nesting density on the east coast is low, but several green turtle nests and fresh tracks were recorded. One protection cage was placed on a recently laid nest.

Most of the nests showed signs of predation, with goannas responsible for the majority of the damage. Fresh pig tracks and digging were also observed along the beaches. 

The team will return to Cape Melville National Park (CYPAL) in April 2026 to remove the cage, excavate the monitored nest and carry out further surveys, including new monitoring work around Ninian Bay.

The information collected from these trips will help guide future predator control and turtle protection work along the eastern Cape York coastline.

This project is supported by Cape York NRM through funding from the Australian and Queensland Governments’ Nest to Ocean Turtle Protection Program.

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