On the Expedition

Monitoring key nesting and foraging populations of a critically endangered species to develop sustainable management plans.

Austral summer teams (January/February) will focus on turtles nesting on the beaches of Milman Island. Volunteers will observe turtles as they emerge from the sea at night, dig their nests, and then lay their eggs. Volunteers will count eggs and intercept the turtles on their way back to the ocean to tag and measure them. July teams will assess hawksbill foraging populations in the Howick Group by traveling widely by boat over the reefs, locating turtles and then assisting with their capture. Then volunteers will tag, measure, and weigh each one before assisting them back into the sea. Teams will work in collaboration with coastal indigenous communities, which have traditionally hunted marine turtles and collected their eggs, facilitating a broader view of sustainable hunting methods.

Meals and Accommodations

The Great Barrier Reef is renowned for its breathtaking beauty, and this project offers access to very remote islands and reefs, rarely visited by travelers. Teams will camp in tents on or near the beach. There will be a large shady marquis tent with tables and chairs, a gas fridge and freezer, and a well set-up camp kitchen for shared food preparation. Fresh water for washing is limited, but there is ample opportunity for snorkeling on the reef off the beach, lying under shady trees, bird watching, and beach fishing during the foraging turtle surveys.

About the Research Area

Teams I and II will be based on Ingram Island in the Howick Group and will conduct the foraging surveys. Ingram Island is similar to Milman Island, where Teams III and IV will work, except it supports a casuarina (a type of tree) forest instead of a closed rainforest. A lagoon adjacent to the island provides protection from wind for access and vessel mooring. The reefs around the island group have been identified as a major east Australian foraging area for hawksbill turtles. A vegetated cay occurs at one end of Ingram Reef, where the turtle research team has a basic camp. While these islands are remote, tourist and commercial fishing vessels and the odd sea kayaker occasionally visit them. 

Milman Island is an uninhabited, densely wooded sand cay located 28 kilometers/18 miles seaward of the eastern side of Cape York Peninsula and 600 kilometers/375 miles north of Cairns in Queensland, Australia. Apart from a 500-meter long strip of beach rock on the western side of the island, the beach surrounding Milman Island is composed entirely of coral sand and rubble.