Perdido Key celebrated its first sea turtle hatch of the season during the evening of Monday, Aug. 8. Escambia County Sea Turtle Patrol volunteers discovered the hatch during routine nest checks and were able to safely recover a small number of hatchlings, but the majority of the hatchlings disoriented towards artificial lights. A full nest assessment will be conducted within the next few days and will provide an accurate count of the total number of eggs in the nest, the number of hatched eggs and other important reproductive data. Pensacola Beach celebrated its first sea turtle hatch of the season on July 24.
Nearly 60% of all turtle hatchlings will be disorientated by land-based lights, which can cause them to wander away from the Gulf of Mexico. Hatchlings that don’t reach the water quickly are at risk of dehydration, starvation and predation. Disoriented hatchlings can also wander into busy roads, garages and swimming pools. Permitted volunteers are trained in disoriented hatchling response and recovery, but still rely on having volunteers in the right place at the right time. Naturally, dark beaches are the best assurance for making sure hatchling turtles make it to the water where they belong.
Every hatchling counts! Help protect hatchlings and turtles by remembering:
- Lights Out! Both hatchlings and nesting turtles need dark beaches to find the Gulf of Mexico. Leave the flashlights and cell phones at home or use a red flashlight when on the beach at night. Turn off beach-facing lights and close windows and curtains to keep our beaches dark.
- Leave Only Footprints! Remove all furniture and toys from the beach when you’re done for the day, including hammocks, tents, canopies, chairs, toys and sports equipment.
- If You Dig it, Fill It! Large holes, trenches and moats create dangerous obstacles for hatchling and nesting sea turtles. Avoid digging large holes on the beach and flatten sandcastles and fill in holes at the end of your day.
If you see a nest hatching or encounter hatchlings turtles on the beach, call Escambia County Marine Resources at (850) 426-1257 or (850) 554-5869. If you encounter a nesting turtle, turn off all lights and retreat a safe distance away.
If you are a property manager or owner and are interested in how you can make your property more turtle-friendly, please contact Samantha Bolduc at (850) 595-3460 or smbolduc@myescambia.com. For more information about sea turtles in Escambia County visit MyEscambia.com/seaturtles or follow the Natural Resources Management Department on Facebook at @ECNaturalResourcesManagement.
All sea turtle work performed by Escambia County was completed under Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission permit #032A and #202.
Original source can be found here.
Alerts Sign-up