The death of a rare leatherback turtle is being investigated after it was found washed ashore on Whale Beach on Sunday 5 March.
This follows the deaths of six leatherbacks off the Central Coast around a similar time last year and the release of another one from a shark net on 3 March 2023, raising concerns in the community about the shark nets and their dangerous impact on the wildlife.
The Australian Registry of Wildlife Health at Taronga Zoo is undertaking a necropsy of the animal to determine how it died. The results may take weeks to finalise due to the advanced decomposition of the carcass.
An NSW Government report revealed last year that 11 leatherback turtles were caught in shark nets off the Central Coast between 2021 and 2022. The Shark Mitigation annual report recorded that out of the 16 endangered turtles caught across the state during that period, five were dead.
Leatherback turtle numbers have dramatically declined in the past century as a result of fishery and intense egg collection.