In a precise operation, 144 green turtle eggs have been relocated from a Sydney beach to a beach more than 500 kilometres north in the hope they will hatch successfully.

Key points: A green turtle has laid her eggs on a Sydney beach where it is to be too cold for the eggs to hatch

A green turtle has laid her eggs on a Sydney beach where it is to be too cold for the eggs to hatch All 144 eggs were removed from the sand and relocated to a Coffs Harbour beach in the same way order and orientation they were found

All 144 eggs were removed from the sand and relocated to a Coffs Harbour beach in the same way order and orientation they were found The eggs are expected to hatch in two months time with hopes they will increase the male green sea turtle population

The unusual operation was launched when the vulnerable species of turtle was spotted on at North Steyne in Manly.

National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) ranger, Peter Bergman, who received the call, was immediately concerned that the turtle had laid a clutch of eggs somewhere on the busy stretch of sand.

What came next was an hours-long extraction process, followed by a 500km road trip with the precious cargo of 144 eggs packed into four coolers.

After that, the eggs had to be carefully placed in sand at an undisclosed location near Coffs Harbour, where they were more likely to hatch.

The female green turtle was spotted before dawn by staff from Northern Beaches Council. ( Supplied: Northern Beaches Council )

A once-in-a-lifetime experience

Mr Bergman said the exercise was a special experience.

"I've been in this outfit for 30-odd years and I've seen turtles laying and I've seen them hatching," he said.

"But this is the first turtle relocation I've personally been involved in and the first time for some of the officers who work for me.

"For the people on the beach this is something they would rarely — if ever — see in their lifetime.

"For a lot of us, with all the work we've been involved in with fires recently, this is a fantastic distraction."

Tracks of the female green turtle led to the nest. ( Supplied: Northern Beaches Council )

Mr Bergman said this was the southern-most green turtle nest he had heard of.

The eggs, each about the size of a ping-pong ball, had to be removed and relocated carefully and put back in the new location the same way they were found.

Holly West, the project officer for NSW TurtleWatch, which operates out of Australian Seabird Rescue based in Ballina and is funded by the State Government's Saving Our Species program, said the eggs were incredibly important.

"One nest in the scheme of things, it is a big deal, because that nest is going to contribute back into the population," she said.

"The statistic is one out of every 1,000 hatchlings will make it to adult size and be able to reproduce.

"That's a really, really low number so any and every hatchling that we can get back out into the water is important."

Careful extraction

Some of the 144 eggs found in the sand at North Steyne at Manly. ( Supplied: NPWS )

NPWS, Taronga Zoo and Northern Beaches Council worked together on the operation.

Mr Bergman said once located, the eggs were pulled out of the sand and lined up in the order they came out.

"We've got to be very careful to keep them orientated the same way, vertically, so we can put them back in the same way," he said.

"That way the turtle embryo is still orientated towards the top so they come up and out of the nest at the other end.

"There is the possibility that some of the eggs would not respond as well if they were twisted on the side and the turtle came out upside down or sideways."

Then it was a matter of getting the eggs ready for the seven-hour drive.

Males and females

The eggs were relocated to a beach on the Coffs Coast and are expected to hatch in about two months time. ( Supplied: NPWS )

The eggs almost certainly would not have hatched at North Steyne.

"Where she laid her nest down in Sydney, that beach is very highly likely too cold for those eggs to hatch," Ms West said.

"It's right on that bottom range of them being able to hatch out successfully.

"We had a discussion about what was best for these eggs and to leave them in a natural setting obviously is one of the best things too.

"To allow the eggs to hatch out and go through the whole process of coming out of the nest naturally is best."

It was also hoped that most of the eggs would hatch as males as most hatching in Queensland have been females.

"With rising temperatures what we're seeing is most of our northern nesting beaches are producing mostly females off their beach," Ms West said.

"What I like to say is 'Hot chicks, cool guys,' so warmer temperatures produce all females, cooler temperatures produce all males and there's a nice line in the middle there where you get about 50:50 within a nest.

"Most of those northern nesting beaches are producing predominantly females and we're really focusing on these southern hatchlings to help us replenish males back into our sea turtle populations."

Citizen scientists will check on the site twice a day to monitor for predators, and keep an eye out for signs that the turtles are hatching in about two months time.