Turtle breeding season returns to Southern Great Barrier Reef
Great Keppel Island continues to be a hotspot to experience the wonder of nesting turtles.
Flatback, loggerhead and green turtles travel across the Southern Great Barrier Reef from October each year looking for the perfect spot to nest.
Great Keppel Island, only 30 minutes from the Capricorn Coast, is repeatedly deemed to be a popular birthing centre for many of these incredible creatures.
Each year Keppel Turtle Fund’s Mark Edmistone and a team of dedicated helpers trained by the Fitzroy Basin Association’s (FBA) Team Turtle CQ patrol the beaches of Great Keppel and nearby national park islands finding and counting nests.
“During the 2021 nesting season we were thrilled to find 43 nests across the nine beaches patrolled on Great Keppel Island, along with one on Conical Island and one on North Keppel Island (Konomie),” Mr Edmistone said.
“Of these, there were eight green turtle nests, one loggerhead nest and 36 flatback turtle nests.”
“With another big nesting season anticipated again this year, we have a larger team being trained by FBA to assist with the monitoring, for which we are extremely grateful as there is a lot of beaches to walk.”
The Keppel Turtle Fund (KTF) was established to grow reef appreciation, provide education, and support rehabilitation and conservation on Great Keppel Island and throughout Keppel Bay.
Aside from the monitoring of nests, KTF conducts the ongoing clean-up of beaches and promotes reduction in plastic use and wastage on the islands.
“The sea, reef and overall environment on Great Keppel Island all contribute to the wellbeing of our marine life,” Mr Edmistone said.
“While we have turtles prominently in our branding and name, we strive to raise awareness of all reef animals including dolphins, dugongs, whales, tropical fish and coral gardens.”
In 2021 the KTF, with the support of Capricorn Enterprise, was successful in securing funding from Austrade as part of the Regional Tourism Bushfire Recovery grants program to launch a new educational trail on Great Keppel Island.
The 300m GKI Sea Way Trail has become a powerful asset for the island, sharing the stories of our impressive marine life, highlighting local marine facts, values, and conservation, and educating visitors on ways that they can play their part in protecting this marvellous wonder of the world.
The trail’s sculptures include a starfish, dugong, hard and soft coral, jellyfish, turtles and hatchlings, butterflyfish, coral cod, giant clam, shark, whale, dolphin, seahorse and a snorkeler over a reef.
Capricorn Enterprise CEO Mary Carroll encouraged visitors to book a day trip or longer stay to Great Keppel Island and discover what was on offer.
“The array of activities on offer at Great Keppel Island from glass-bottom boat tours, hiking, swimming and snorkelling with turtles and other marine creatures among the colourful coral gardens allow visitors to truly absorb the natural beauty of our destination,” Ms Carroll said.
“Keppel Bay is an environmental wonderland and we are incredibly fortunate to have Mark from the Keppel Turtle Fund on the island, providing such important education to our youngest residents and holiday makers.”
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