Turtle nesting season starts Sunday until Oct 31, so listen up folks, there are a few rules you’re going follow at the beach in Florida.
Pick up your garbage on the beach. I’m tired of cleaning up after you when you leave. You’re gross. Juice box wrappers and Doritos bags everywhere. Also, it’s great to see your kids expressing themselves and building sandcastles, but during turtle nesting season, fill in the holes and knock those shoddy towers of sand down. Our little hatchlings can’t get to the water with the hole your kids begged you to help dig.
Oh and you up there, yeah you waterfront owner. Close your drapes and turn off your outside lights. Your lights disorient the sea turtles and their hatchlings. Turtles use natural light to find their way to the water. They don’t need your dining room IKEA lights confusing them.
Also, I can’t believe I have to say this, don’t touch any marked nests or sea turtle.
Here is some valuable info:
If you see a sick, injured or stranded sea turtle in Sarasota or Manatee county waters, contact Mote Marine Laboratory’s Stranding Investigations Program at (941)-988-0212. Outside Sarasota or Manatee counties, please call the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) at (888)-404-FWCC (3922).
If you suspect that someone is tampering with a sea turtle nest, harassing a sea turtle or having possession of a sea turtle or any of its parts, please call FWC, call your local sheriff’s office and/or call Mote’s Sea Turtle Conservation and Research Program at (941)-388-4331.
