A pilot study at Mon Repos Conservation Park will trial approaches to cooling turtle nesting beaches to restore the normal ratio of male and female hatchlings.

The study is part of the $5.9 million Green Turtle Research and Protection Program launched by the Morrison Government to preserve and nurture the world’s largest green turtle population on the Great Barrier Reef.

Federal Member for Hinkler Keith Pitt welcomed the announcement which will see Queensland Parks and Wildlife Services undertake the study.

“Mon Repos has the most significant loggerhead turtle nesting population in the South Pacific region and each year, thousands of visitors come to the Bundaberg region to see this natural phenomenon,” he said.

“The study will trial how to effectively cool turtle nesting beaches to temperatures that are likely to produce a higher proportion of male hatchlings.

“The aim is to conduct the experimental work at Mon Repos in the first instance, with a view to applying positive results at important sites for the northern Great Barrier Reef green turtle population.”

 The Green Turtle Research Program will also include an aerial survey of potential nesting beaches in the northern Great Barrier Reef and Torres Strait to map sites, and satellite technology will be used to track movement patterns to better understand where adult male green turtles feed in the northern Great Barrier Reef.

For more information visit: http://www.gbrmpa.gov.au/our-work/field-management/great-barrier-reef-green-turtle-research-program/_nocache