Image
courtesy Jill Falls - Fraser Island Hideaway
Turtles
are frequently seen here in the Great Sandy
Region. The area is home base for some and
others travel up to thousands of kilometres to
nest here. The most popular is the Green Turtle
and the Loggerhead Turtle. Flatback, Hawkesbill and the rare Leatherback turtles can also be seen in our Bay waters.
Green
Turtles
Green Turtles [Chelonia mydas] are quite common throughout the Hervey Bay, Fraser Island and Great Sandy Strait waters and
require a similar habitat as the dugong - primarily shallower water with seaweed or seagrass and sandy beaches for nesting. The Green Turtle is the largest of the hard-shelled sea turtles and adults may reach a size of up to 130cm long and weigh up to 185 kg. The shell (or carapace) is smooth and
coloured grey, olive, brown and black and the underside (plastron) is pale yellow.
Babies are called hatchlings and weigh about 25
gm, are around 50 mm long and
coloured black on top and white on the bottom. At approximately 25 years of age, females lay their eggs on a nesting beach and after around 60 days incubation period, hatchlings emerge and crawl down the beach into the sea.
Loggerhead
Turtles
The distinctive head of the Loggerhead
(pictured top of page) usually gives it away from a distance. They are
generally seen out in the Bay and close to Fraser Island, and occasionally seen in the Great Sandy Straits.
