Environmental crisis unfolds turtles wash up on North Stradbroke Island

A spike in the number of dead turtles washing up on North Stradbroke Island has triggered an expert’s concerns about the survival of the species.

Concerns grow among North Stradbroke Island residents as the number of washed-up turtles has spiked, with experts warning the species could be at risk of extinction.

The future of a population of beloved North Stradbroke Island turtles is in doubt with an increasing number being found dead on beaches.

A spike in the number of sick, injured and dead turtles found in South East Queensland has triggered concerns from expert and Head Veterinarian at Village Roadshow Theme Parks Dr Claire Madden who said the region has seen an almost 42 per cent increase in sick and injured turtles in the past 12 months.

Dr Madden said the number of turtles found dead, injured or sick in South East Queensland in 2022 was 108, with 41 of those being found deceased. In 2023 there has so far been 144 dead, sick or injured turtles found, with 49 of those deceased.

“We’re still seeing the usual suspects; turtles entangled in crab pots, ingesting fish hooks and fishing lures,” Dr Madden said.

“We see these throughout the year, but we’ve also seen an increase in disease.

“We think this is because of the flood events that had February last year … which not only dumped a lot of freshwater into our saltwater systems but it also brought with it a lot of debris and silt and mud and a whole heap of other yuckiness.”

Dr Claire Madden said she has seen an increase in disease affecting turtles in South East Queensland. Pictured: Dr Claire Madden.

Stradbroke resident Emily Hardie reported a deceased turtle on Flinders Beach on October 18.

“I didn’t see any tags on it, it’s such a pity,” Ms Hardie said.

Meanwhile resident Elice Garcia alerted the community online about a turtle she discovered on Cylinder Beach on Monday.

“We only saw it on the beach and I thought that perhaps someone might be doing research into why it had died,” Ms Garcia said.

Dr Madden said North Stradbroke Island was where a lot of sick and injured marine life ended up because its unique coastline location.

“With the huge number of (sick and injured) turtles we're seeing this year, it’s no surprise that North Stradbroke Island is also seeing an increase in dead turtles.

North Stradbroke Island residents have shared washed-up turtles to social media.

“We think a loss of quality and quantity of sea grasses has caused our turtles to succumb to poor nutrition, with poor nutrition comes poor immune response which then predisposes them to a whole range of diseases.

“If this statistic and this high rate of loss of mortality continues, I can't see how a species could survive,” she said.

Moreton Island resident Maree Green also reported seeing seven washed up turtles last month.

“They were on the eastern beach within a few kilometres of the water,” she said.

The Sea World Research Foundation is conducting a turtle health investigation and encourages the community to support their work through donations.

“It’s very important that we still get deceased turtles as well as live turtles,” Dr Madden said.

“We’re suspecting that we’re only going to get a larger increase (of dead turtles), we need money to add resources so that we can continue to provide turtles the care that they need,” she said.