Protecting our turtles with temporary beach closures

Published on 22 October 2020

The impact of vehicles on turtles nesting at the world-famous Cable Beach is again being managed with night-time closures.

The Cable Beach north access ramp is now closed to vehicles between 8pm and 6am each day during the turtle nesting season, which runs from 1 October 2020 to 28 February 2021.

Cable Beach will also be closed to vehicles two hours either side of high tides of 9m or more.

The Shire is currently working with Nyamba Buru Yawuru and other stakeholders exploring possible expansion of closure times to provide the best chance for turtles to safely lay their eggs and increase survival rates of hatchlings.

The vehicle closure times are primarily at night and during the period when the beach is least used and turtle nesting season is underway.

The main species nesting on Cable Beach is the Flatback Turtle, which is threatened and is protected under WA legislation.

They generally nest at the top of the beach above the high tide mark where their nests can be damaged by vehicles compacting sand and crushing nests.

Wheel ruts can also prevent hatchlings making their way to the water, and vehicle lights can disturb and confuse hatchlings, so the Shire is encouraging people to stay off the soft sand and not drive on the beach at night.

More information on vehicle access and driving techniques during turtle nesting season is available here.