Turtle nesting season has commenced on the island, with the first nest laid on Nelly Bay beach in mid November. Turtles will be nesting around the island over the next two months with nests having been previously laid on all of our beaches.
Townsville City Council and QPWS have been active in fencing off Geoffrey Bay and Radical Bay to vehicles to prevent turtle nests being driven over. Tire tracks can also impede hatchling access to the beach, resulting in hatchling mortality, which occurred at Radical Bay last year.
If you see a turtle on the beach, please give it space, as they can easily be disturbed.
Magnetic Island Network for Turtles (MINT) will be conducting training on how to identify turtle tracks and they are monitoring all nests, given that many succumbed to the heat last year. If you see turtle tracks please contact QPWS on1300 130 372 orMINT. GPS coordinates (use your smartphone) can help pinpoint and assist QPWS to fence off the site.