It really is dangerous to stop writing, the longer I don't write the harder it is to know where to pick up from, or what to rant about next, I have a very long list of blog ideas... but here I go, dive on in...
I've been travelling around the east coast of Australia soaking up as much as there is to learn about sea turtles in the state of New South Wales (NSW). The results are fascinating. Not only are there records dating back to 1788 of resident sea turtles foraging in NSW, but during the multiple in-water surveys I have conducted across marine parks in NSW over the last 18 months have revealed happy, healthy foraging turtles in every site where suitable habitat was previously predicted and/or ground-truthed. What a mouthful of explanation we have to give everything now. But it's important to be precise. I cannot think of an estuary or reef in NSW waters that would not be suitable for foraging sea turtles, but I am forced to put geographic parameters on my study and realise the limited hours in the day, so for now I'm especially looking in marine parks.
Confirming the length of a young Hawksbill at Ned's Beach, Lord Howe Island
To date I've been surveying in the Cape Byron Marine Park and the Lord Howe Island Marine Park. Both have yielded fascinating results in terms of both cultural history and sightings of sea turtles. I'm hoping to add into the mix third marine park, Batemans, which is home to Montague Island on the southern coast of NSW. Reports confirm a number of recurrent sightings in this park and the influence of crowd-sourced data can be seen through sightings logged via sites like Redmap www.redmap.org.au or the Atlas of NSW Wildlife.
An old friend at Old Settlement Bay, Lord Howe Island
In the grand scheme of things I hope this research will fill gaps in our understanding of the species composition and size class of sea turtles in NSW, how and why they are using the habitat and if that habitat is being adequately protected. We traditionally associate sea turtles with the northern states, but even Victoria is making claim as home to the species as well. One sea turtle that was brought into rehabilitation in southern Australia was genetically traced back to Oman. I can't tell you yet where the sea turtles found in NSW are genetically traced back to. These animals have amazing stories to tell us and there are so many reasons why we should be listening more intently.
Happy green sea turtle at Ned's Beach, Lord Howe Island
