A popular tourist beach on the NSW Central Coast has become home to a nest of more than 100 loggerhead turtle eggs, making it the southernmost site for a nest on record.
Locals saw a loggerhead turtle entering the water at Shelly Beach on the Central Coast last week, which led authorities to find a nest in the sand dunes and fence it off to protect the eggs.
Berkeley Vale resident Mick Burns, who happened across the turtle while walking with a friend around 5am Tuesday, said the discovery was a surprise.
"I just pulled the phone out and thought 'I have to get something of this'," he said.
"I've seen them on National Geographic, on television, but not the real thing."
Marine wildlife expert with the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service Duane March said this loggerhead turtle nest was the southernmost on record.
"Loggerheads typically lay in south-east Queensland," he said.
"We do have reports of loggerhead nests in northern NSW but getting one down there on the Central Coast is definitely unusual."
Mr March said the nest's location could be a sign that climate change is impacting the species.
"These turtles are using environmental cues to dictate when and where they nest," he said.
"With increasing sea temperatures we expect to see increasing nests in those southern latitudes."
'Hot chicks and cool guys'
The Shelly Beach nest could have between 100 to 150 turtle eggs, which are expected to hatch within 8 to 12 weeks.
Sea turtles have temperature-dependent sex determination, which means the temperature experienced during the early stages of development inside the egg will determine the sex.
"So, hot chicks and cool guys," NSW TurtleWatch coordinator Holly West said.
"Warmer temperatures will produce all females and cooler temperatures will produce all males."
Ms West said some population modelling suggests there could be a "feminisation" in turtles in northern parts of Australia due to rising sea temperatures.
"That puts a lot more emphasis on our cooler temperature nests here in New South Wales," she said.
"We want to make sure that we keep all of these nests protected to help put males back into the population."
Loggerhead turtles are also known to lay multiple clutches of eggs, which means the female could return to beaches on the Central Coast in the coming weeks or months.
"Where we do identify a nest we will fence it off and put some educational signage up," Duane March said.
"But it's really important that people respect the distance and that there's no foot traffic over the nests as that'll give the hatchlings the best chance of survival."
