Sea Turtle Season is upon us!!
From May 1
through October 31.
Nesting turtles in Florida consist of 4
species: Loggerheads, Green Sea Turtle, Leatherbacks, and Kemp’s Ridleys. These
sea turtles are endangered and therefore protected along the Florida Atlantic
coast.
Female sea turtles will emerge from the surf at night
and crawl up onto sandy beaches towards the dunes to dig a deep hole in the dry sand to lay their eggs in May through October each year.
The eggs are then covered
with sand and the adult turtle returns to the sea. An average nest contains 100
eggs! One female will lay three to five nests each nesting season. About
two months later, hatchlings (baby turtles), emerge from the nests and crawl to
the ocean on their own.
Here is general information about turtles in Volusia County.
Lights Out – Why?
Bright lights can disorient and confuse sea
turtles on the beach. Females choose dark beaches lit only
by the moonlight to lay their nests. As hatchlings emerge from their nests,
they orient themselves toward the water using the dark silhouette of the
natural sand dunes behind them and the openness of the lighter horizon over the
water in front of them.
Therefore, you must keep the blinds closed at night and
turn off the balcony lights – this goes for the east, north, and south sides of
any buildings on the beach. Stiff fines of up to $5,000.00 per day can be
issued for failure to comply.
"No Source of Light, nor reflection of light,
shall illuminate the beach, and the source of light, nor the reflection of light
shall be visible by a person who is in a standing position on the beach."
How to achieve this effectively can be found HERE.
Protect the Turtles
Aside from shielding your lights, you can help
protect the turtles in the following ways:
Do not disturb a female on land – she is only
there to make a nest and lay eggs – do not hover around her.
Do not touch, pick up, or in any other way
interfere with turtle hatchlings as they make their way to the ocean. They are
extremely vulnerable.
