Ocean Sentry
The intention of the surveys was to collect critical data and inform key government and non government agencies. We are aware that the needs of marine turtles in this region are not being recognized due to a lack of data regarding preferred turtle nesting sites.
The participants conducted surveys of marine turtle nests from Blue Metal Creek, north of Bramston Beach to south Ella Bay. A total of 47 recent marine turtle nests were located, photographed and their positions recorded using a Garmin Map 76 handheld GPS unit. These photographs, maps and GPS marks are stored on the CD which accompanies this document.
During the surveys we located many recent and old marine turtle nests on these beaches, however only fresh nests with tracks were recorded. The Turtle Foundation has informed us that they have no previous records of marine turtle nests in the Bramston Beach region.
Both Ella Bay and Bramston Beach will be subject to beachside resort development in the near future by developers including Sartori Resorts and the Whisper Bay Group. Marine turtles characteristically maintain fidelity to traditional nesting sites. We believe that beachside resort developments will render these important nesting areas unsuitable for use by these endangered marine turtles.
Survey Participants: Russell Constable, Sara Dobson, Timothy Connolly
Area Surveyed: From the mouth of Blue Metal Creek S17.21.622E145.59.964 to the southern section of Ella Bay S17.28.150 E146.03.902.
MAP SHOWING NEST LOCATIONS (You can zoom in and out or change view type)
{mosmap width=’460’|height=’700’|lat=’-17.400787’|lon=’146.041946’|zoom=’11’| zoomType=’Large’|zoomNew=’0’|mapType=’Satellite’| showMaptype=’1’|overview=’0’|lang=” | kml=’https://www.oceansentry.org/images/maps/marine-turtles-ella-bay.kml’ }
NEST LOCATIONS
TRACKS 002 13-NOV-08 08:27 S17 21.695 E146 02.164
TRACKS 003 13-NOV-08 08:32 S17 21.706 E146 02.169
NEST 004 13-NOV-08 08:36 S17 21.799 E146 02.209
NEST 005 13-NOV-08 08:38 S17 21.818 E146 02.212
NEST 006 13-NOV-08 08:43 S17 21.831 E146 02.221
NEST 007 13-NOV-08 08:50 S17 21.944 E146 02.270
NEST 008 13-NOV-08 09:05 S17 22.233 E146 02.414
NEST 009 13-NOV-08 09:10 S17 22.275 E146 02.434
NEST 010 13-NOV-08 09:13 S17 22.280 E146 02.437
NEST 011 13-NOV-08 09:20 S17 22.377 E146 02.493
NEST 012 13-NOV-08 09:22 S17 22.377 E146 02.495
NEST 013 13-NOV-08 09:24 S17 22.380 E146 02.494
Campground 014 13-DEC-08 14:09 S17 27.894 E146 03.890
NEST 015 13-DEC-08 14:41 S17 27.253 E146 03.837
NEST 016 13-DEC-08 15:05 S17 26.958 E146 03.841
NEST 017 13-DEC-08 15:10 S17 26.903 E146 03.853
NEST 018 13-DEC-08 15:18 S17 26.904 E146 03.842
NEST 019 13-DEC-08 15:24 S17 26.861 E146 03.847
NEST 020 13-DEC-08 15:26 S17 26.858 E146 03.851
NEST 021 13-DEC-08 15:31 S17 26.819 E146 03.858
NEST 022 13-DEC-08 15:36 S17 26.792 E146 03.856
NEST 023 13-DEC-08 15:39 S17 26.748 E146 03.862
NEST 024 13-DEC-08 15:51 S17 26.541 E146 03.879
NEST 025 13-DEC-08 15:53 S17 26.523 E146 03.888
NEST 026 13-DEC-08 15:56 S17 26.508 E146 03.883
NEST 027 13-DEC-08 15:59 S17 26.471 E146 03.883
NEST 028 13-DEC-08 16:07 S17 26.391 E146 03.902
NEST 029 13-DEC-08 16:11 S17 26.365 E146 03.915
NEST 030 13-DEC-08 16:13 S17 26.353 E146 03.915
NEST 031 13-DEC-08 16:15 S17 26.331 E146 03.902
NEST 032 13-DEC-08 16:25 S17 26.162 E146 03.943
NEST 033 13-DEC-08 16:31 S17 26.030 E146 03.970
NEST 034 13-DEC-08 16:50 S17 25.634 E146 04.063
NEST 035 13-DEC-08 16:51 S17 25.638 E146 04.064
NEST 036 13-DEC-08 16:53 S17 25.646 E146 04.079
NEST 037 13-DEC-08 16:55 S17 25.612 E146 04.098
NEST 038 22-DEC-08 07:16 S17 26.953 E146 03.849
NEST 039 22-DEC-08 07:20 S17 26.946 E146 03.851
NEST 040 22-DEC-08 08:56 S17 25.292 E146 04.128
NEST 041 22-DEC-08 09:08 S17 25.034 E146 04.188
NEST 042 22-DEC-08 09:08 S17 25.020 E146 04.191
NEST 043 22-DEC-08 09:13 S17 24.959 E146 04.200
NEST 044 22-DEC-08 09:14 S17 24.955 E146 04.206
NEST 045 22-DEC-08 09:20 S17 24.945 E146 04.213
NEST 046 22-DEC-08 09:37 S17 24.801 E146 04.219
NEST 047 22-DEC-08 09:41 S17 24.447 E146 04.287
NEST 048 22-DEC-08 09:46 S17 24.380 E146 04.287
NEST 049 22-DEC-08 09:55 S17 24.144 E146 04.321
NEST 050 02-FEB-09 17:23 S17 19.504 E146 00.543
NEST 051 02-FEB-09 16:32 S17 17.962 E146 00.083
I certify that the results of these surveys are accurate and true within the limitations of the technology I have at my disposal.
