M. purvisi has been assigned to the data-deficient species management stream under the SoS framework, and consequently it is necessary clarify its distribution, status, biology, ecology and vulnerability to threats, so that management actions can be more precisely targeted. Accordingly, the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage (OEH) has established a project to determine the distribution, abundance and population structure of the species. The turtle trapping program described in this report is a contribution to the overall OEH project.