Cape Domett winter monitoring update

August 2025

Cape Domett is one of the highest density flatback turtle nesting rookeries in Australia. Located in the northeast Kimberley region, it is one of a suite of winter-nesting rookeries across northern Australia and an important reference site for the North West Shelf Flatback Turtle Conservation Program. 

Each August, the NWSFTCP collaborates with DBCA Kununurra staff and the Muriuwung Gajerrong (MG) Rangers to conduct two weeks of monitoring at this remote location. This year, a group of male staff and rangers led by James Gee conducted the first week of monitoring, and a group of female staff led by Dr Sabrina Fossette conducted the second week of monitoring.
 

Each day the teams conducted track counts and identified any predation of nests and turtles. An interesting scientific paper on crocodile predation was published in 2025 describing unique predation behaviour. More can be read about that study here. 
 

In 2025, the average number of tracks per night was 38.9, which is lower than the previous nine years of monitoring. 
 

The NWSFTCP will continue monitoring the Cape Domett winter-nesting population to identify if this decrease is a result of a longer-term trend or natural variation.