Turtle Love: Cleawater Aquarium Seeks Public's Help

CLEARWATER, FL -- Sea turtle nesting season is here, and the people at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium, 249 Windward Passage, Clearwater, is once again seeking the public's help to protect the nests and the baby turtles once they hatch.

Sea turtle nesting season runs from May 1 through Oct. 31. However, Clearwater Marine Aquarium staff, volunteers and interns have already begun to patrol 13 miles of beach along North Pinellas County to record the location of nests.

The morning patrols reach the beach just before sunrise seven days a week. Initially, the teams search along the high tide line for evidence of sea turtle nesting, namely marks in the sand left by crawling females. Once tracks are located, they determine whether there is a nest present or if it was a non-nesting emergence, aka a false crawl.

The patrols mark the nests and collect various measurements from the nest site so they can monitor it throughout the season.

The patrols primarily observe loggerhead sea turtle nesting activity in Pinellas County, although Kemp’s ridleys and green sea turtles have been found nesting on the beach as well.

Loggerhead incubation times range between 45 and 65 days, so staff and volunteers begin to look for hatching activity 45 days after the first nest discovery. Hatching activity is identified by tracks emerging from the nest sites.

After a nest has hatched, they wait at least 72 hours then excavate the nest and do an inventory of its contents to determine hatching success.

Last year, 667 loggerhead nests were monitored during nesting season.

Here's how the public can help:

Use Sea Turtle-Friendly Lighting

If you must use lights near nesting beaches, use amber or red lightbulbs that have long-wavelength light (570 nanometers or longer). Cover or shield light fixtures and keep them directed down and low to the ground whenever possible.

• Under natural conditions, hatchlings and adult use brightness to guide them to the water from the beach. The reflection of the moon and stars over the water usually creates the brightest horizon, but on developed beaches, lots of artificial light (street lights, exterior/interior lights on homes, decorative lighting, etc.) confuse the turtle and cause them to think that those sources of light are where the water is. They crawl toward that light, wasting precious energy they need to reach the ocean.
• For nesting females, artificial lights can deter them from emerging onto a beach at all, forcing them to select less optimal nesting sites to deposit their clutch.

Turn out unnecessary beach lights to help prevent disorientation of female sea turtles and hatchlings. Close your curtains and be mindful of bright lights shining on the beach. Keep it dark!

Remove Obstacles

Knock down sand castles and fill in sand pits. This helps to eliminate the challenges the baby hatchlings must cross on their way to the shoreline. Sandpits can be like the Grand Canyon and sand castles like Mount Everest to tiny baby sea turtles.

Keep The Beach Clean

Picking up trash eliminates items that both hatchlings and adults may become entangled in. Something as small as a bottle top or as large as unwanted beach furniture can pose potential problems, leading to both false crawls and disorientation. Keep it clean!

You can always help by providing donations of any items listed on the Sea Turtle Nesting Wish List!

Images via Clearwater Marine Aquarium