Three things to remember as turtle season hatches again

Leave the beach the way you found it, be wary of all lights at night, and do not disturb nesting females.

  • By Guest Author
  • | 4:40 p.m. May 13, 2021
Check out conserveturtles.org for some mind-boggling turtle treks. Courtesy photo
Check out conserveturtles.org for some mind-boggling turtle treks. Courtesy photo
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by: Corey Comstock

What a wild and wooly year has passed since last year’s turtle season, but here we are again already. With a zigzag smile, sea turtles blink their wide eyes and hustle by like an underwater frisbee. My son, Greg, and I once snorkeled alongside a pair of green turtles in Antigua for a good 20 minutes and felt honored every second.

Courtesy photo
Courtesy photo

Turtle season began on May 1 and continues up to Oct. 30 and there are some things that you should remain aware of to give these beautiful creatures every chance to nest and allow their hatchlings to reach the sea.

  • Leave the beach the way you found it: Clean, smooth and debris free. Obstacles, even the smallest ones, create obstructions that disorient and threaten the tiny newborn hatchlings and holes or mounds can cause a deadly scenario for them. Mothers may eat trash, thinking that it is food, whereas plastics and other poisons will sicken and kill these lovely creatures.
  • Be wary of all lights at night. Hatchlings crawl towards the moonlight so flashlights, bonfires and headlights mislead the hatchlings away from their destination, the ocean. Random lights confuse and frighten mama turtles, causing them to return to the sea without nesting.
  • Do not disturb nesting females! If a sea turtle comes ashore to nest, leave her alone and do not approach. Give her space, make no noise or quick movements. If you frighten her away, she may dump her clutch of eggs into the ocean and the unborn turtles will perish.

There are five species that make their way onto our Florida beaches, but only two of them are prevalent this far north: the loggerhead and the green turtle. We get a handful of leatherbacks each season, and every once in a great while, a Kemp's ridley.

They vary in size from around a hundred pounds (Kemp's ridley) all the way up to seven feet long and 1,500 pounds (leatherback). Some of these turtles will astound you with their national travels as they paddle as far north as Novia Scotia. Check out conserveturtles.org for some mind-boggling turtle treks.

Because they have to avoid predators, obstacles, and hardships to achieve maturity at about twenty-four years, only one in a thousand survive to reproduce. Let’s not make it any more difficult for these spectacular animals.

Stop by turtlepatrol.com to learn more.     

 

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