Beach residents and visitors asked to help hatchlings survive

Courtesy of pinellascounty.org

Sea turtle nesting season is underway, and Pinellas County is asking residents and visitors to help our nesting sea turtles, at least 178 of which were disoriented by lights or obstacles during the last nesting season.

During the season, which runs through Oct. 31, beach community residents and beach visitors should do the following:

• Turn off outside lights, draw drapes and avoid using flashlights or fishing lamps on the beach.
• Remove obstacles such as sandcastles or sand pits that may make it too difficult for hatchlings to make their way to the shoreline.
• Keep the beach clean. Eliminate trash items that may entangle baby hatchlings and adult turtles.
• Do not approach or harass adult turtles as they make their way back to sea.
• If residents spot turtle tracks or a possible nest, and it does not appear to be protected by stakes or ribbon, call 1-888-404-3922.
• For residents who own or live in beachside properties, make sure lighting is turtle friendly. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC)’s sea turtle lighting guidelines can be found at https://bit.ly/sea-turtle-lighting.

Loggerheads are the most common sea turtle to nest in Pinellas County. Females generally nest from early May through August and the eggs in each nest typically hatch 50 to 60 days after they are laid. Only 1 in every 1,000 hatchlings make it to adulthood so it’s imperative that we give our friends the habitat they need to nest.

Beach visitors should not pick up hatchlings heading toward the water, shine lights or use photo equipment with a flash. Hatchlings use starlight and moonlight reflecting off the water to find their way to the ocean, and if they become misled by artificial light, they can become disoriented and die.

Besides checking the beaches every morning for signs of new nests, nesting staff mark the nests and tape them off to avoid human disturbance. As endangered and threatened species, Kemp’s Ridley and Loggerhead turtles are protected under state and federal law, and disturbing their nests is illegal.

To report the disturbance of a sea turtle nest, or report the sightings of turtles that are dead, lost, stranded or wandering the street, call the FWC Division of Law Enforcement at 1-888-404-3922 or call *FWC from a cell phone. Residents can also report these sightings on the FWC website at https://app.myfwc.com/LE/WildlifeAlert/Default.aspx.

Most of Pinellas County’s beach communities have ordinances prohibiting lighting that casts glare onto the beach during turtle nesting season. If you are curious about the lighting in your community, check with your city to see what the appropriate ordinance says. By obeying the law and following some simple guidelines, residents and visitors can greatly improve the chances of sea turtle survival.

More info: https://pinellas.gov/sea-turtle-protection/.