Sydney (Australia), October 18: As a third La Nina event may occur during the sea turtle nesting season in November, beachgoers in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) are encouraged to spot and report sea turtles for better conservative data.
The NSW Department of Planning and Environment said on Monday that such reports could help them to monitor turtle activities and conduct conservation work to save hatchlings, especially for some endangered species such as green and loggerhead sea turtles.
"With another La Nina summer predicted, sea turtle nests will be in the firing line from increased storm activity," said NSW TurtleWatch Project Officer Holly West.
"Nesting turtle tracks disappear from the beach very quickly, so the earlier we are notified about tracks or the location of a potential nest, the better."
Last month, Australia's Bureau of Meteorology declared a third consecutive La Nina event was underway in the Pacific, signaling eastern Australia could brace for above-average rainfall in spring and early summer.
West noted the reports of nesting turtles, turtle tracks or nests will help them to act to save the eggs if the nest is at risk of being inundated by high tides or impacted by other threats, such as predators, erosion or light pollution.
In collaboration with NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, NSW TurtleWatch collects data on how many sea turtles utilize the state's coastline to nest in each nesting season.
Last year, 376 baby turtles were hatched and made their way to the ocean from the relocated nests that would otherwise have been washed away.
"The more we understand about how, where and when marine turtles nest, the more we will be able to protect them," West said.
Source: Xinhua
