The Western Cape Turtle Threat Abatement Alliance (WCTTAA), established with the backing of Cape York NRM, have monitored more than 5000 turtle nests during the 2023 season along the western Cape York Peninsula. On average, only 11-12 per cent have been damaged by predators.
WCTTAA is a partnership of six on-ground Indigenous land and sea owners and managers setup to safeguard turtle nest eggs and hatchlings. Rangers use purpose-built, cages which are installed over nests to prevent feral animals, such as wild pigs, from attacking the eggs.
Cape York NRM’s WCTTAA Coordinator, Dr Manuela Fischer said “Apart from keeping turtle nest predation to a sustainable number of under 30 per cent… we set up a new data collection system, NESTOR, to improve the accuracy of nest monitoring… [and] also trialled a method of checking and reducing nest temperature, which, because of climate change, has been increasing. From the preliminary findings, we are seeing amazing results, so we will be conducting the official study this year, on a broader scale.”
Read the full story here.
