Support for turtle rehab facility

One Gladstone resident who will like the idea of a turtle rehabilitation facility is Sarah McAuley, 10, seen here helping with turtle health checks carried out last month in Gladstone Harbour by the Scientific Advisory Committee.

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GLADSTONE could be the perfect location for a new, state-of-the-art turtle rehabilitation facility.

That is the belief of Sea Turtle Foundation director Tim Harvey, who says the circumstances allow for creation of a “world's best practice” facility to aid sick or wounded turtles.

Mr Harvey told The Observer he was lobbying Gladstone's LNG proponents to finance the project.

“It could be the perfect combination,” he said.

“We have the knowledge (of turtle rehabilitation) but not the money.

“The LNG companies have the money but not the knowledge.”

Mr Harvey, a marine biologist, said there were comparable turtle rehabilitation facilities in Townsville at the ReefHQ Turtle Hospital and on the Gold Coast at Seaworld.

Although these are world-class facilities, he said they were simply too far away to take a sick turtle from the Gladstone region.

Mr Harvey said he approached three LNG proponents last Thursday and he felt they had given him a fair hearing.

It now appears Mr Harvey is not the only person eager to see a such a facility established in Gladstone.

A spokesman for QGC told The Observer the company had been interested in a turtle rehabilitation centre for some time.

“For the past two months QGC has been actively investigating a turtle care and research facility at Gladstone,” he said.

“A potential site has been identified and QGC is currently negotiating with the site owner.

“Other parties, including government departments and other LNG projects, have been involved in discussions and are supportive of the proposal.

“We are very happy to talk to other supporters and QGC staff made this offer to Mr Harvey when he visited our Gladstone office.”

High demand

More than 45 turtles have washed up dead since March.

The scientific panel investigating marine animal deaths in Gladstone Harbour last week said it expects the current level of deaths to continue at least until the end of the year.