Endangered turtle eggs laid on a remote Great Barrier Reef island have had their odds of survival boosted thanks to an earth-moving project.
A 150-metre stretch of beach on Raine Island, northwest of Cairns, where the turtles lay their eggs was raised by one metre to protect nests from flooding.
Drones surveying the site over two years have found raising the sand protected all the nests from high tides and encouraged turtles to spread out their laying instead of digging up each others eggs.
Preparation is already under way for the next nesting season, which is due to start in November.
About 60,000 green turtles visit Raine Island every year to lay their eggs.
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