loggerhead sea turtle in coral bay

Loggerhead sea turtles (caretta caretta) are found in coral reefs, bays, and estuaries in tropical and subtropical waters around the world; including coastal Queensland, the Northern Territory, New South Wales, and Western Australia, including Coral Bay.

Loggerhead sea turtles are carnivorous, feeding primarily on shellfish, crabs, sea urchins, and jellyfish.

Features include:

o 5 pairs (rarely 6) of large scales on each side (coastal scales)

o Carapace (protective shell-like covering on back of turtle) longer than wide

o Adult shell approx. 1.0m

o Color reddish brown to brown

The loggerhead sea turtle has lost between 50 and 80% of its annual nesting population in the last decade. The additional loss of just hundreds of large loggerhead turtles may threaten the survival of the species in Australia.
In Australia, loggerhead turtles nest in the southern Great Barrier Reef and adjacent mainland coastal areas. Other important nesting areas are in Western Australia, including Murion Island, Ningaloo (Coral Bay), and further south near Shark Bay.

Females originally tagged near colonies in southeastern Queensland have been recaptured in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, New Caledonia, the Northern Territory, New South Wales, and other parts of Queensland.

Similarly, loggerheads tagged in Western Australia have been recaptured in the Northern Territory, Indonesia, and other parts of Western Australia.

Loggerheads nest from late October, peak in late December, and finish nesting in late February. Young emerge from nests from late December to around April, with most hatching from February to early March.

The loggerhead turtle is one of the most visible turtles on the lower west coast of Western Australia, with resident adult turtles and large sub-adults sometimes found in the Perth region. Young-of-the-year (after hatching) loggerhead turtles from the Gascoyne region’s breeding beaches are also regularly washed ashore during the winter and early spring following western storms around the south and west coasts. from Western Australia.

The main threat to loggerhead turtles nesting off the coast of Western Australia is the risk of nest and hatchling predation by foxes that invaded the Ningaloo coast in the 1940s and early 1950s. Fox baiting programs implemented on Ningaloo Coastal nesting beaches have reduced nest predation rates. The continued improved breeding success resulting from the fox harassment programs will potentially help the recovery of numbers in the Ningaloo Coast area.

However, there are unresolved regional longline and trawl fisheries interaction issues that affected all stocks.

Disturbance of loggerhead turtles that nest on the mainland also occurs due to vehicles driving along the beaches and uncontrolled tourist interactions.

Not only does this page have lots of information on sea turtles, but check out my other related topics, including:

o Life cycle of sea turtles

or Green Turtles

o Sea Turtles in Coral Bay, Ningaloo Reef

or Hawksbill Turtles