Marine turtle nests found at Ella Bay and appeal for comment

ABC Far North 6 Mar 09;

Bramston Beach's Russell Constable was enjoying a quiet walk on the beach with his partner when they encountered tracks that led them to a sea turtle nest.

They had a hunch that there might be more breeding sites in the area - and they were right.

A sea kayak paddle across to Joyce Creek and a closer look along the shoreline uncovered forty seven nests between Blue Metal Creek and Ella Bay.

The nests belong to flatback and green turtles according to experts from the Sea Turtle Foundation and Environmental Protection Agency.

Both species have vulnerable status.

Constable says sea turtles are one of the flagship species of the area and one of the most vulnerable.

"They're up there with cassowaries and dugongs and the one time [the female turtles] are vulnerable is when they do come onto shore and lay their eggs."

Turtle nests are particularly vulnerable to predation, erosion and human activity and there is growing concern that the new resort planned for Ella Bay will further endanger the nesting sites.

Satori Resorts has lodged an application to build a $1.81 billion, 450 hectare five-star tourism and residential resort less than a kilometre from the beach.

The resort will be built on land that was once a cattle station. The site is surrounded by World Heritage rainforest, home to the cassowary and several endangered frog species.

"To put a development there is insanity; it's not a sound judgement environmentally," says Constable.

"From the people I've spoken to around Flying Fish Point and in Bramston Beach which is the next bay up [from Ella Bay], the general feeling is people care but they don't know how to do something about it."

The new findings have alarmed environmental activists, who are calling on the government to step in and review Satori Resorts' original environmental impact statement.

The result could delay the resort's development process by six to nine months. The resort would have to resurvey the area, says company chairman Rod Lamb.

"We've always expected that there would be nests. But in our two surveys that we did, we didn't find any, so I welcome the information," says Lamb.

He says, however, their plans already take the local wildlife into account.

"We've put management plans and the design of the resort is based around having down lights and not having illumination that could be seen from the beach," says Lamb, adding that heavy vegetation separating the beach and the future resort will lessen light pollution that would otherwise confuse baby sea turtles from finding the sea.

Video clip of the interview on the ABC website.

Editor's comment:
Russell Constable wrote to wildsingapore to appeal for support for his effort on plans that would affect Ella Bay. He writes:

"I have recently completed a marine turtle survey near Ella Bay in Far North Queensland Australia. After discovering previously unrecorded marine turtle nesting areas I submitted the survey to the Cairns and Far North Environment Center and the Environmental Defenders Office. Within a day these two groups prepared a legal request for the minister to consider the marine turtles when assessing a multi million dollar resort which threatens to destroy this magnificent wild bay. The minister has opened up this information to public comment and I wish to make an appeal for the public to leave a comment here. You can also go directly to www.cafnec.org.au where you will find a pro forma letter to our Federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett AM MP (deadline 11 March 2009)."

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