Flatback Turtle Tagging - Barrow Island

Some time ago, back in August my sister sent me an email about an opportunity to volunteer as a turtle tagger for two weeks over summer. This work was going to be at a place called Barrow Island, 70kms off the mainland and over 2,000kms north of Perth in in Pilbara. At the time I thought wow, love to do it, but thought they would be looking for people with experience or at least working in a conservation field... I was motivated, however by the sentance that said both experienced and non-experienced volunteers required - so I filled out the form, with no sea turtle tagging experience and limited knowledge of what I was volunteering to do, sent an email presenting myself as person who was willing, able and savy in the WA outback, then i took off to my trip to Melbourne.

When I returned to work I found I had been accepted to join the 2nd team of 12 volunteers between the 7-21th Dec 2007 (there are only 4 teams in total). Stoked, excited, and sending thank you emails to Anna for letting me come, I started packing! Walking boot, ankle gatter, headlamp & red light cover, 3lt water bladder, backpack, hat, sunscreen, writing things, 3 books, 1gig memory card & manual for my camera and my Horizon Power PPE... (that's Personal Protective Equipment for those not in the know). I just had to wait for my Barrow Island Induction and flight details.

I'm not so good at waiting... couple of emails to Anna & Naysa (project leader's) and I had my Chevron Barrow Island Induction date as the 26th October 8am-12pm. Stuth that's the day I had planned to spend getting ready for my 40th party! It worked out perfect. I had the day off work, went to my induction and then pick up all the fresh food I needed on the way home in my beloved combi in pouring rain...

PRE BARROW INDUCTION
Now there is a bit of backgound I need to let you know about Barrow Island. Whilst the island was recognised as significant for conservation as early as 1908 and later classified an A-Class Nature Reserve, in the 1960's oil was king (funny still is) and the then WAPET (now Chevron) was given the right/licence/approval to drill and export crude oil from the island. They found oil in 1964 and in 1967 (year of my birth) appointed Naturalist - Harry Butler as their conservation consultant.. Harry Butler is very much a part of my childhood - having to watch his TV and school programs called "In the Wild with Harry Butler" and was/is a muched loved Australian with respect to wildlife. for my overseas friends, Steve Erwin was 2nd to Harry. And Harry's catch cry was to look but return as you found it. I always remember him lifting a rock to show what was hidden beneath and then telling the viewer's that the rock must be returned as you found it. Harry was the beging of what we now know as 'take only memories and leave only footprints'...

Harry Butler's decision to 'embed' himself with oil & gas development's and mining has been both respected and shunned, depending on your views. Harry himself felt that his greatest contribution to conservation was to work with mining companies and teach them about conservation. I can understand his approach.. As I see myself also 'embedded' with a utility to try to get them to change their use of and production choices of energy. - I'm not in the same league as Harry.

Barrow is about to undergo a major new challenge. Whilst many will argue that the conservation efforts by Chevron todate have been good, perhaps even great... the Gorgon Project will test and stain every rule and process they have in place to manage the island and protect its wildlife. Harry had retired and has not been replaced and the Gorgon Project involves the building of an LNG plant on the island with a workforce of over 3,000 folks.... Can the island cope with this is the question everyone is asking and trying to anwer. I have added some links below to review if you like.


http://wwf.org.au/articles/gas-weighs-heavily-on-barrow-wildlife/
http://www.theage.com.au/news/Business/Geosequestration-part-of-Gorgon-project/2007/09/07/1188783486439.htm
http://www.rescuebarrowisland.org.au/
http://www.doir.wa.gov.au/investment/236D33C61CB94D08BFEDB190172DDDE5.asp
http://www.australianoftheyear.gov.au/pages/page88.asp

Now to tell you about some of these rules... There are two types of rules on Barrow... 1st the personal safetly rules and 2nd the conservation rules... these at times get a tad mudled. The induction is 4 hours and everyone visiting the island must attend. You're told about what you can bring, how to get there, what you can't do, what you can't do again, what you can do and what you must wear doing it. So you don't forget this it is provided to you in a small white book you must carry with you at all times. I was given a list of new acronym's like HSA, TIF & OSPREY..... In the middle of all this info I was also told I could bring snoklling things and if we had time would be taken out to a reef :) The not so fun thing I was told was the flight details - you must be at the Perth Domestic airport at no later than 4am! This is so all your luggage can be checked for dirt, seeds, pests, etc before you can get on the island. We were told to ensure out boots & shoes where clean... Chevron have a quarantine process and policy for the island. This is to ensure no envasive species (plant or animals) arrive on the island. Its a two way system, as nothing is allowed to leave the island either. The Chevron video I watched told me its working - I'll leave it up to you to decided... Bear in mind that this is a FIFO (Fly in/Fly out) 2-week on/2-week off mining camp, where 721 jets arrive daily carry the 280-bed work force and helicoptors also ferry workers to other off-shore facilites daily... Plus the weekly barge bring equipment, food and vehicles. Chevron do inspect everthing! So you need to becareful where you pack your nickers! and all shoes must be packed on the top of your bag.

So on Friday 7th December at 1.55am I got out of bed to drive to the airport. I was up so early so I could shower before hand and if I had a flat tyre on the car didn't need to panic about missing the flight. Also the Perth airport is a tad busy with the current mining boom and parking is not so easy to get or close. I needed to give myself enough time to find parking and walk to the airport (yet this is Perth and there is no 24/hr shuttle bus service). I arrived at 3 am and found the new 'Long-term Parking' section. I was lucky and found a parking bay, but to give you an idea of the parking issues at Perth, this car park would hold some 600 cars (guessing) and on any given day you will find cars parking on curbs or dirt sections that aren't bays - due to the lack of parking being available when they arrive to fly to work. So many people park and fly as its inexpensive ie for me for 14 days only $111 vs a taxi at around $30 one way from Perth or from my home $150 one way (I do live in the sticks). Plus there is no public transport running 24/7 and what does run is a bus... Many of the mining companies pay the parking for their staff so everyone want the convience of parking...

I was in the airport terminal at 3.30am. So even though I had left early I really only had 1/2hour to wait. I wasn't alone...several folk were sleeping at the airport on the floor and some walking around waiting for the place to open at 4am. Check in went well and I passed my shoe inspection...Now its was time to wait to board the plane... We didn't board until almost 6am... This was not much fun - but I did have a book..


BARROW INDUCTION
Arriving at Barrow was wonderful.. the view from the air of the island is special. We landed and all the turtle taggers were rounded up by our team leaders, Anna and Naysa. We stand out a bit from the workers in our new longs! Now there is a new word for you and lucky for me we use it at work. Longs means = long cotton pants and shirts. To be anywhere on the island (other than the Chevron Camp) you MUST be in Longs, steel capped boots, hard hat, safety glasses, and if working you must be with a buddy... by the end of 14-days this was going to rub the turtle taggers patience a bit thin... we had to wear our PPE traveling in the bus to go snokeling, including wearing boots on the beach until we were actually entereing the water and at all times in the water we had to have our feet covered!

We were all bundled on to a bus, instructed on the safety requirements, told to ware our seatbelts and told the bus would not be going faster than 60km/hour. This requirement was to protect the wildlife that hid in the shadows for the spinfiex on the edge of the road.... Nothing is to be run over and if you do you MUST report it.... At night you can only drive at 40km/hour and yes only someone who is trained can drive...

At the Chevron Camp. This is the place where we were to live for the 14-days...It is a set of 6 4-story buildings facing east (over looking the ocean about 300 meters way) if your lucky for the view and like the sun in your room all day or facing west overlooking the spinifex country and less sun. We were to be in F-block and we had to share the small room... there is an bathroom in each room and a balcany to take in the view. The rooms are small about the size of a 1-star hotel room, you each have a single bed, lockable storage spot and in our room a TV with Foxtel and fridge. The interesting thing is the door to your room won't lock. Its a Chevron safety requirement that in the event of an emergency the rescure team can just enter your room and drag you out... Its done because of the the shift work and people sleeping with ear plugs might not hear the alarms. You can lock the bathroom! I was sharing my room with Ashlee - she was a great room buddy - Thanks Ash :)

The rest of the camp is the main building which has a bar/sports club, couple of offices, TV room, and lecture room. It is this lecture room that the turtle taggers spent the rest of the day in... We arrived at camp at around 9.30am. We had to attend a 2-hour camp induction. You know get to meet the equipment, find the loo's (only 1 for girls), medic, food hall, gym, fish cleaning bay, ice room (yep you can put ice in your badders to have very cold water), pool, tennis court, etc... We were told the 'rules' again on what we can't do (twice) and what we have to wear. Then we had lunch - I'll descrie food a bit latter on. We then had to watch the Charlie Video on safety and 'bond' with each other for 4 hours!

Just when we thought it was safe to go to our rooms and sleep. Naysa our team leader had to walk us thought the JHA or is that HSA - whatever on what the hazards are for turtle tagging... Finally we then had our 'Tailgate" meeting in the arvo and it was time for dinner at 6.30pm... I was buggared!

FOOD
I've gained 10kg's in 14 days. There is so much food... Every meal there are 4-5 hot meat dishes, 4 hot vegie dishes and rice, then soup & baked bread. Then there are 3 full tables of cold meats & salads... And if you have any room left there are the cakes and icecream (these are on tap 24/7)...

The rules for food are interesting. 5.30-6am Breaky; Lunch 12.30-1pm; Dinner 6.30-7pm If you need to eat outside these times (and we did sometimes) you need to make something up and store it in your fridge (if you have one in your room - otherwise use the Enviro Room fridge) or have your team leader book a meal for you. You don't get to choose what you get and you will find it in the late meal fridge with your name on it. One early or late morning depending on how you see it... the turtle taggers arrived back at camp at around 9am. We had missed breaky and Naysa had arranged our meals... What a surprice to find I had beef curry, bacon, sauage, pork steak with mince toping, two fried eggs, tomato, bake beans and toast waiting for me! Bit of a handful for the reformed and mostly vego! I ate the eggs & bake beans...

You can help yourself to fruit, cakes, tea, coffee, lolly water and icecream 24/7. Every 2nd Saturday there is a BBQ (red meat lovers rule) and then a grill the next Saturday. Only about 4 times was fish on the menu. The salads are amazing, but most still contain meat. Whilst OHS&E are Chevron number 1 value - it doesn't include respect for diet!

LIFE AS A TUTLE TAGGER
So my life as a turtle tagger began. We had to be trained on the job... this was fun. The 1st night we all went out together... its a bit hard to learn anything this way but it did get us used to seeing and being near a turtle... We got to watch our 1st flatback lay her eggs... Wow!

Next night we were in two groups of 6 with a team leader... This was better but again not everyone got to do the tagging... Then the 3rd night we were in groups of 3 and on 6 different beaches. On our 4th night we worked in pairs on the 6 different beaches and we were full turtle taggers now:)

Now its is night work as the trutles prefer to lay their eggs in the cool. It can be as hot as 50-degrees at Barrow. We were very lucky it was never that hot for us - just sitting aroung the mid 30's the whole time... but very humid some nights.

We started our 1st tagging night at around 9.30pm. We meet in the Enviro Room in our PPE - long cotton pants & shirt, enclosed shoes or boots, add a hi-vis vest (reflective), water in your backpack, camera, headlamp with a red light (turtles don't like white light). We then pair up (Naysa works out who is with who each night and on which beach), we have to carry between us a UHF radio, clipboard for recording our turtle data, a tool box containing our tags, taging tool, pliers, tape measure, pencil, white paint pen, and other bits and bobs we might need. Once tooled up we head out to our beach for the night. If you are on Mushroom you need to go with Chris in the 4x4 as the bus can't make it there, if you are on Yatch Club North, Bi-Valve, Terminal or AO7 Naysa will drive you out in the bus and if you are on Yatch Club South you just walk there as its behind the gym...

As you leave the bus you must do a radio check with Naysa... The radio's were a lot of fun, especially on the quiet nights chatting about what we could see, jokes, songs and exciting events with the turtles. They were also our only way of knowing when we would be returning to camp or if something when wrong the only way to get help! Nothing ever went wrong...

Now the plan is to be on beaches about an hour and 1/2 to 2 hours before hide tide each night and to stay there until there are no new turtles cuming up onto the beach. There are two tides a day but the turtles prefer the high tide at night. Once on the beach with all your pack and suff you have to take a stick and remark the track line. This is a line in the sand above the high water mark and below the spinefix that is used to see if any turtles have crossed it during the day... With your red light on you count the tracks that have crossed the line... Its hard work in the boggy sand... very good for building calf musles... Once this was completed and assuming you didn't have any turtles on the beach you could rest. Generally there were turtles on the beach and sometimes on your trackline... Though we did have some very quiet nights... At the end of the night you redid the track line to see if you missed any turtles... and yep everyone one does.

The tagging time we started at got latter each night by around 40-minutes, where on the last few days we had to do two shifts, ie 3am - 10am and then 4pm - 10pm ish.... It was a really good way to bugger up your sleep and confuse you as to what day it might be...

TAGGING
There are two types of Flatback turtles. Those tagged and those not. The tagged turtles need to have their tag number recorded, be measured, check for damage ie flipper missing or shell damaged and then you write on them with the paint pen that you have checked them. If a turtle returns to the beach (any beach) with paint you can read then you just need to record her tag number. To make this bit less of an interruption for the turtle when we write on them we write the date, location ie YCN and her left tag number.

Now writing on a turtle is not so easy. They don't want you to... just like they don't want you to tag them or measure them... so at times you often find yourself crawlling down the beach with pen, tape measure or tagging tool in hand, whislt turtle can see and smell the ocean and is trying to make her escape. Your poor tagging buddy is doing a number of tasks one of which involves trying to record the data on the data sheets you are calling out . Length 987mm, Width 751, no damage, left tag is 62445, right tag is 62446 (if your lucky) and paint.... The 2nd more challenging role your buddy has is to restrain the turtle if you can't read the tag. This involves getting in front of the turtle (red light on only) placing your hands over her eyes and head, push her head down and into her shell... And do you think she likes this! fat chance... All the time you have to be careful around her front flippers that have claws/spike that can cut or tare you or your clothes... You are now covered in sand and being pushed backwards down the beach as she makes here way to the ocean... I have several bruses on my legs... But we got the info!

To tag a new turtle is a bit of a challenge and adrealin rush. You have to pick your time on when you do the tagging or recording... best time is after she had chambered, layed her eggs and is filling in or returning to the sea. She is a tad tired and you can get in close and using your boot move her left flipper out staight... The aim is to tag the 1st scale she has on her flipper close to her shell... You want the tag to go in high on the scale and it needs to lock in place. I found the left side simple the right side is much harder. The tags are titanium have to go through the scale and lock together at the back... The scale is just hardened skin so its going to hurt. You have to do both sides in case she looses the tag... It take some confidence building and each team has to work together. She will fling her flipper once the tag makes contact and you have to hang on to ensure the tag in trough, try not hit the back of your hand on her shell and not loose your grip on the tagging tool... then you have to find your next tag, load the manual tool, all the while your buddy is trying to stop turtle returing to the sea. Sand is being flung everywhere and little miss turtle is all puffed up huffing at you... And yes you need to keep your hands away from her mouth - she has teeth... Once tool is loaded you have to get onto her right ride, move her flipper out with your foot, hold the scale with your left hand taught and clamp down with your right hand inserting the 2nd tag. Yep y ou do get a face full of sand, but Chevron require you to wear safety glasses - please note my somewhat dagy look in these photos.

You can't always wait until the turtle has nested.. You get to know that where she is trying to build her nest it will fail and you have to learn to accept that if you disturb her and she returns to the sea having not laied her eggs - she will return the next night to try again.. That's why its a great idea to get the paint on her and her tag number...

SEA TURTLE TRACKING

Whilst I was there we were very luck that the Barrow Island Flatback Tracking for 2007/2008 happened. 4 turtles had radio trackers attached and whilst I didn't get to see this bit happen, I did get to see Arial return a few nights latter with her radio tracker on and successfully lay her eggs... you can follow the turtles at Barrow and other locations at this url...

http://www.seaturtle.org/tracking/


OTHER BITS

As you can tell from my long blog I enjoyed myself and I hope I get to go again next year. Other highlights of the trip was going snokling twice at Turtle beach. Here I had a Green turtle and small reef shark swim right underneath me..

It was hard to leave Barrow and the turtles...