TURTLES are visiting Central Coast shores ©

Loggerhead and green turtles visiting Central Coast beaches have been in the news recently but, like any discerning tourists, they are particular about our beaches and ocean if they are to survive and return to these shores.

When Marine Wildlife Rescue Central Coast was notified that a female loggerhead had come ashore at Shelly Beach to lay her eggs in January it caused great excitement. Loggerhead turtles are an endangered species that, on the East Coast of Australia, prefer to lay their eggs on warm Queensland beaches and, less frequently, in northern New South Wales.

‘We know they swim in our waters,’ says Cathy Gilmore, head of the newly amalgamated Marine Wildlife Rescue Central Coast. ‘They’ve been seen swimming off Sydney and even as far south as Jervis Bay, but I’ve never heard of one laying eggs this far south.

‘It’s therefore important to keep a close watch on the sand temperature. So we also buried a temperature log connected to a phone app,’ says Cathy. ‘That way we can track that the eggs remain at the right temperature of around 26°.’

The sex of turtles is determined by the temperature of the sand. The warmer the sand, the more females are born. Climate change is resulting in hotter nests and therefore fewer male hatchlings. The cooler sand on the Central Coast, compared to farther north, may see this Shelly Beach nest produce more males, which would be a good thing for the species and may even result in more welcome visits from turtles returning to their birthbeach to lay eggs in future.

Green turtle with a ‘Happy Birthday’ balloon

Green turtles are more prevalent visitors than loggerheads in our local seas but they’re also listed as vulnerable.

‘Turtles eat jellyfish so they are very susceptible to inadvertently swallowing plastics or fishing lines that can look like seaweed,’ says Cathy. ‘We monitor turtle photos posted by local scuba divers as they can include injured or distressed turtles and we can pinpoint where they were seen.’

Boat strikes are another major threat but, sadly, the survival rate for a turtle injured by a boat propeller is very low, particularly if found already floating at the surface and unable to dive.

One turtle, named Ella, was still swimming when she was rescued but was obviously very sick.

‘We put her in a warm water tank with oils and fed her oily fish in an effort to stabilise her,’ says Cathy. ‘She remained “touch-and-go” and on the third day of her care, she pooped a bright yellow “happy birthday” helium balloon. It still had the string attached!’

Ella was fortunate that the line did not wrap around her intestines. Then two days later, she managed to poop out a plastic bag as well.

‘After that she began to eat more freely,’ says Cathy. ‘But she had contracted pneumonia as well as septicemia and had to remain in our care on medication for six months. Fortunately, we were eventually able to release her back into the ocean.

‘We’ve rescued 10 turtles from Terrigal Haven over time and each one suffered from ingesting plastic,’ says Cathy. ‘Occasionally an East Coast low will wash hatchlings onto our beaches and even at one week old we find plastic in their system.’

It’s ironic, therefore, that the trellis and fencing put around the buried loggerhead eggs on Shelly Beach had to be plastic. ‘We had no option,’ says Cathy. ‘Metals can interfere with the hatchlings’ magnetic compass. But we’ll take it away as soon as they’re hatched!’

If you see any marine wildlife in distress please call Marine Wildlife Rescue Central Coast on 0478 439 965. MWRCC is a recent amalgamation of members from a range of wildlife rescue groups who pooled their local knowledge (including Australian Seabirds & Turtle Rescue, ORRCA, Sea Shepherd, Greenpeace, WIRES and Wildlife ARC).

If you’d like to become a member or donate to MWRCC to directly help our local marine creatures, please email marinewildlifecc@gmail.com