Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Lights out! Sea turtles need their nests

Hatchlings on the beaches can go astray.

By CRISTINA SILVA
Published April 29, 2007

CLEARWATER - Every spring, Tammy Langer of the Clearwater Marine Aquarium faces the same daunting task: protecting the sea turtles that turn the gulf beaches into maternity wards.

The turtles and hatchlings face lots of obstacles, from people who disturb nests to renourishment projects that threaten habitats.

But their greatest problem is light. Instinct tells new hatchlings emerging at night to head for the brightest light, which in an unpopulated area would be the moon on the gulf.

But man-made lights disorient the turtles and cause them to head toward roads and buildings. It poses a significant threat to their survival, said Langer, director of sea turtle nesting at the aquarium.

Unless people do more to shield artificial lights along the beach, sea turtle nests, which have dropped significantly across the state in recent years, will continue to decline, she said.

While nearly every municipality along the gulf has ordinances that require beachfront property owners to reduce their lighting during nesting season, these regulations are rarely enforced, Langer said.

City officials said they do want to ensure the safety of the turtles. But in some cities, property owners have complained the reduced lighting ordinances potentially make their properties a target for crime.

"That's going to always be an issue, security vs. being fair to our seafaring friends, " said Indian Shores Mayor Jim Lawrence.

In Indian Shores, police officers regularly patrol the shoreline, Lawrence said. The city also recently applied for a county grant to install new reduced light units along its beaches, he said.

Turtle-friendly lighting includes shorter lighting fixtures along beach accesses and parking lots or putting shields around existing lights, said Nicole Elko, the county's coastal coordinator.

Reducing artificial light can be difficult along Pinellas' built-out beaches, Elko said.

"Obviously we are trying to reduce that urban lighting glow, " Elko said. "Someone might say, well, what good are all of these small lights along beach access ways when you have these Hiltons or Marriotts lit up like it's the middle of the day? But the idea is for cities to be the model for private property owners."

Loggerhead sea turtle nesting has declined by at least 22 percent in Florida, home to 90 percent of the threatened species' nesting in the world, a state Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission study found in November. Tampa Bay area turtles appear to be in trouble as well, Langer said. "Nesting all around was low last year, " she said.

Marine turtle nesting and hatching occurs from the beginning of May through the end of October. Female turtles come ashore in the dark, dig a hole and lay 100 to 150 eggs.

Beginning in April, Langer and her staff search the beaches for sea turtles.

To ensure the hatchlings do not end up on following lights to Gulf Boulevard, the aquarium cages the nests before the eggs begin hatching in July.

Hotel managers generally try to be good neighbors to the sea turtles.

"We redirect lights on our sea walls and lower the tennis court lights, " said John Agliano, assistant general manager of the Sheraton Sand Key Resort in Clearwater. "Our guests really love the idea of seas turtles nesting, though, really, no one has reported seeing a hatchling in some years."

Fast Facts:

How to help

Property owners and beachgoers can help keep beaches more turtle friendly:

- Do not interfere with nesting females, eggs, or hatchlings.

- Leave nests, nest markers and signs undisturbed.

- Shield or turn off all lights that shine on the beach or are visible from the beach.

- Remove furniture, cabanas, sports equipment and similar items from the beach at night.

- Keep pets off of the beach.

Source: Clearwater Marine Aquarium

[Last modified April 29, 2007, 00:39:17]