A Safer Start Needed for Moreton Bay's Turtles
At first light on Bribie Island, turtle patrol volunteers scan the sand for broad flipper marks.
A trail from the surf to the dunes and back tells them a turtle came ashore in the dark. If she laid eggs, the team records data for the Queensland Turtle Conservation Project, then installs nest protections. Around ten weeks later, a scattering of tiny tracks will reveal that hatchlings have set off for the sea.
This quiet work is starting again on Moreton Bay’s island beaches. Bribie Island (Yarun), Mulgumpin (Moreton Island) and Minjerribah (North Stradbroke Island) sit near the southern end of the loggerhead’s usual nesting range in eastern Australia, although occasional nests are recorded farther south on the Gold Coast and the beaches of northern New South Wales.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature lists the South Pacific loggerhead population as Critically Endangered. An earlier regional estimate put the Bribie Island –Sunshine Coast nesting region at around four per cent of eastern Australia’s nesting loggerheads. Add Mulgumpin and Minjerabah to that tally, and the region's island beaches are significant in conservation terms, forming a part of a larger network of nesting habitat.
Giving nesting turtles space
A female loggerhead usually spends two to five years at sea between breeding seasons. When she comes ashore to lay her eggs, she needs a quiet, dark beach, safe from feral predators. On many of Queensland’s sandy beaches, nesting loggerheads compete for space with ever-increasing numbers of recreational four-wheel drivers. Vehicles can disturb nesting turtles or crush eggs, and tyre ruts can trap hatchlings on their way to the water.
The Queensland Government’s 2026 Coastal Management Plan provides policy guidance to beach managers, recommending nighttime closures and seasonal restrictions at turtle nesting beaches to reduce disturbance. It also recommends measures to reduce artificial light and control invasive predators. The plan supports beach driving only where there is no practical alternative for access and only where dunes, wildlife and other beach users can be protected.
The Moreton Bay Foundation (TMBF) welcomes this policy direction and expects timely action that reduces impacts on nesting turtles and their habitat. Night-time vehicle closures on nesting beaches throughout turtle season would be a clear first step towards proper protections.
Science also points to the broader impacts of beach driving. Research commissioned by TMBF and led by Professor Thomas Schlacher at the University of the Sunshine Coast found that even low levels of off-road driving can cause lasting damage to dune plants. These plants help hold dunes together, protecting nesting habitat and supporting the coastline’s resilience through severe weather.
Coastal squeeze and the beaches turtles will need next
As the world warms and sand warms with it, turtle nests tend to produce more females, while extreme heat can reduce hatching success. Rising seas and storm surges can flood nests. Where retreating shorelines meet buildings, roads and seawalls, beaches have less room to move inland, reducing the habitat available for nesting.
That makes effective management of nesting beaches, especially those within national parks and other protected areas, even more important. We expect land managers to uphold protections under state and national conservation laws and support Australia’s international commitments to turtle recovery.
Dr Emily Webster and colleagues at James Cook University and Sunshine Coast Council have compared nesting records across the loggerhead’s Queensland and NSW nesting range with projections for warming, rising seas and storms. Their work identifies potential climate refuges where beaches may remain suitable for nesting as conditions change. Other Australian modelling suggests that areas with suitable nesting temperatures could shift south over time. These findings suggest the dunes of Moreton Bay’s islands may become even more significant to turtle recovery. Proper protections now not only improves the success of the current population, but helps preserve the nesting habitat future generations will need.
A loggerhead hatching on Bribie this summer may take around 30 years to reach breeding age. By the time she’s ready to come ashore for the first time in the 2050s, the South East Queensland coastline may look very different. Keeping beaches dark, protecting dunes and giving shorelines room to move can help make sure she still has somewhere to lay the eggs of the next generation.
Comments