Cyclone Kathy on 23 March 1984 stranded many green turtles, Chelonia mydas, on the coast adjacent to
the Sir Edward Pellew Is. It is estimated that over 1000 were thrown up by the storm surge and that over
500 were left stranded by the receding waters, including migrants from the Raine I. rookery. These turtles,
which were predominately large females, had been feeding close inshore on seagrass. Of the mature females
sampled, 62% were preparing to breed in the next breeding season but none had bred in the previous season.
The flatback turtle, Chelonia depressa, the principal species breeding on the Sir Edward Pellew Is, was not
involved in the stranding. Hawksbill turtles, Eretmochelys imbricata, and olive ridley turtles, Lepidochelys
olivacea, which occur in the deeper offshore waters were also not stranded. Some of the rescued turtles were
subsequently recaptured nesting at Raine I.
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