Cape York rangers warn olive ridley nests are falling as turtle patrols expand

Indigenous ranger groups from across western Cape York have used their biggest annual gathering yet to push for continued support for sea turtle protection, as new monitoring data points to a worrying decline in olive ridley nesting on some of the region’s most remote beaches.

More than 70 representatives from nine ranger groups, along with state and federal agencies and conservation organisations, met in Cairns in March for the Western Cape Turtle Threat Abatement Alliance (WCTTAA) meeting. Hosted by Cape York Natural Resource Management, the alliance brings together land and sea managers from communities including Mapoon, Napranum, Pormpuraaw, Kowanyama and the Northern Peninsula Area to coordinate patrols, nest protection and long-term monitoring.

The program’s latest figures show the scale of on-ground work being carried out across the coastline’s key nesting sites. Rangers reported that 7,493 feral pigs – a major predator of turtle nests and eggs – were removed during the most recent nesting season, alongside the use of protective cages to shield nests from pigs, dingoes and goannas.

Beyond the immediate threat control, the alliance is also collecting the kind of long-term data that can guide future conservation decisions. Pormpuraaw Land and Sea Rangers coordinator Clinton Williams said: “The information we collect from places like Hersey Beach helps us understand how turtles are using the area …”

That focus on evidence has sharpened attention on trends within the turtle populations themselves. Rangers recorded just 88 olive ridley nests compared with 1,587 flatback nests across monitored beaches this year, prompting concern among scientists working alongside the ranger teams. Cape York NRM marine turtle conservation lead Dr Manuela Fischer said: “While nesting numbers for flatback turtles remain relatively stable, the number of olive ridley nests has declined since the start of the decade.”

Queensland Environment and Tourism Minister Andrew Powell has pointed to the broader impact of coordinated efforts, saying an estimated 2.5 million hatchlings have been protected in the region through the Nest to Ocean Turtle Protection Program since 2014. The program is jointly funded by the Queensland and federal governments, with Cape York NRM coordinating work with local ranger organisations and partners.

For ranger groups, the work is inseparable from caring for Sea Country. The alliance model combines community-led decision-making and cultural knowledge with field monitoring, pest management and shared training, including new tools such as e-bikes for beach patrols.

Ranger leaders and conservation partners say the challenge now is to maintain the momentum – keeping pigs down, protecting nests, and ensuring the data needed to understand long-term population change continues to be gathered on Country.