Western Australian turtle monitoring results 2024/25

May 2025

DBCA runs several turtle monitoring programs over summer to track long-term trends in flatback, hawksbill, green and loggerhead turtle populations. Turtles are culturally significant species for many Aboriginal people with traditional ties to Sea Country. Several turtle nesting beaches and foraging sites are monitored each year by Traditional Owners in joint management with DBCA, ensuring that their ongoing conservation is based on both traditional knowledge and values alongside western science.

Monitoring conducted across WA each year is essential for understanding the long-term trends of WA’s marine turtle populations and informs management for the future. Check out some of the 2024/25 results from across the State:

FLATBACK TURTLES

Delambre and Thevenard Islands
The NWSFTCP monitored and tagged flatback turtles at two Pilbara islands over five weeks in November and December. At Delambre Island, volunteers identified a total of 583 individual turtles and 615 nests, and at Thevenard Island there were 137 individual turtles and 173 nests.
Wickham and Cleaverville
On the mainland, the West Pilbara Turtle Program volunteers and staff, in partnership with Rio Tinto, monitored and tagged flatback turtles around Wickham and Cleaverville from November to January. A total of 368 nests were counted by volunteers across three sites and 88 individual turtles identified at Bells Beach, Wickham.
Eighty Mile Beach Marine Park
Karajarri and Nyangumarta Rangers co nducted flatback track counts and nest success monitoring across 12kms of Eighty Mile Beach over 15 days in the peak nesting season. A total of 432 nests and 640 “false crawls” (not resulting in a nest) were recorded, while 62 nests were marked for rangers to return to six weeks later to determine hatching success.
Eco Beach
Nyamba Buru Yawuru Country Managers and Yawuru DBCA rangers monitored and tagged flatback turtles at Eco Beach over two weeks in the peak nesting season. A total of 25 tagged individual turtles, 45 nests and 115 tracks were identified.
Cable Beach
The Cable Beach Turtle Monitoring Program counted flatback turtle tracks and nests on the popular beach from November to late December. Over 100 volunteers spotted 93 tracks and 70 “false crawls” and marked 63 nests.
Yawuru Nagulagun/Roebuck Bay Marine Park
The only studied feeding ground for flatback turtles in Western Australia is found at Yawuru Nagulagun/Roebuck Bay. Nyamba Buru Yawuru Country Managers, Yawuru DBCA rangers and NWSFTCP staff caught 37 flatback turtles within the bay over three trips in August 2024, February and April 2025 as part of ongoing foraging studies with the NWSFTCP. Juveniles and adults were caught, with satellite tracking devices and video recording devices attached to study their movements and behaviours in the bay.

HAWKSBILL TURTLES

Rosemary Island
For two weeks, the Rosemary Island Turtle Monitoring Program monitored and tagged hawksbill turtles. Although the number of adult turtles was lower than previous years, with 453 individuals identified, there were thousands more hatchlings than ever seen during the October tagging period indicating the turtles may have nested earlier in the season.

LOGGERHEAD TURTLES

Dirk Hartog Island
In January, the Dirk Hartog Island turtle monitoring team monitored and tagged loggerhead turtles. A total of 897 individual turtles were observed over 3 weeks. Tropical Cyclone Sean interrupted nesting in late January, but tracks returned quickly following the storm.

MIXED TURTLES

Ningaloo Marine Park
From November to February, the Ningaloo Turtle Program counted green turtle tracks across several beaches. There were plenty of tracks to be found, with 10,793 tracks (including 2427 nests) monitored by 49 volunteers. They also counted 1291 loggerhead tracks and 131 hawksbill tracks.

Thank you to all volunteers, DBCA and joint management staff who committed thousands of hours of hard work in hot and challenging conditions this season. This data is essential for understanding the long-term trends of WA’s marine turtle populations and informs management for the future.

Go to the following links for more information:

Disclaimer: The data included in this Latest Update is the property of the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions. This data is to be used only for educational purposes and not for distribution, publication or commercial use. Data may have been de-identified or excluded in the process of making it available to the public domain and is subject to change following further curation and analysis.