FL - Beach Lights Dim Prospects for Marco's Sea Turtles
The 2023 Sea Turtle Season ended on October 31st and for other parts of Florida, they’ve seen their nesting numbers tripled. Even FWC spokesperson, Tonya Long added, “widespread reports from nesting surveyors around the state are showing record-breaking years, especially for loggerheads and green turtles, as she described the phenomenon as "exciting."
Our neighbors on Sanibel and Captiva concluded their “record-breaking” loggerhead nesting season. For Marco, beach lights significantly increased the number of disorientated nests.
The Sea Turtle Protection Program within the Collier County Parks and Recreation Division (CCPRD) is responsible for monitoring the 22.5 miles of beach for sea turtle activities, including Marco Island’s 7.1 miles from inside Big Marco Pass (Hideaway Beach) south to Caxambas Pass. Marco Island was first surveyed for sea turtle activities in 1990.
The purpose of the program is to protect nests and collect data on sea turtle nesting and hatchling activities and to fulfill permit requirements for beach renourishment and beach raking.
According to Maura C. Kraus, Principal Environmental Specialist for Collier County, the first sea turtle nest for Marco Island was laid on May 6, 2023 and the last was on August 12, 2023.
Here are Marco’s end-of-season preliminary numbers from Maura Kraus:
- Total Nests for 2023: 127 (last year 102).
- Total Hatched Nests: 82 (last year - 85).
- Total Disoriented Nests: 47 (last year - 10).
- Average eggs per nest: 81 with 145 highest and 59 eggs being the smallest count.
- Average incubation: 55.3 days.
- Total False Crawls: 429 (last year – 214).
- Total Eggs: 9,318.
On July 6th, Marco’s first set of hatchlings emerged from Nest Number One and according to Sea Turtle Monitor Tyler Beck, it was “massively disoriented.” On August 16th, beach walkers found a wandering hatchling on the Gulf side of Residents Beach. It crawled from Nest 77, which was 1.8 miles to the south.
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Read also
Hurricane Idalia destroyed dozens of sea turtle nests in Pinellas County,
Tampa Bay Times / November 07, 2023
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Hatchling disorientations were running at 60% for the 2023 season and preliminary numbers recorded 47 hatchling disorientations out of 82 hatched nests, a record high for Marco.
Artificial lighting on nesting beaches and distant sources of illumination (city glow) and other sources of light can interfere with the normal nesting behavior of sea turtles and cause hatchling orientation problems, according to sea turtle experts.
On August 29, 2023, Tropical Storm Idalia’s waves collapsed the newly constructed berm on Sand Dollar Island and according to Kraus, 18 nests were washed out.
In May 2023, for the start of sea turtle season, female loggerheads returning to Sand Dollar Island encountered the ongoing reclamation project. For the first month, 294 false crawls were recorded and according to experts, obstacles on the beach such as pipes, dredging equipment, ATVs, human disturbance, lights and altered beach nesting habitat, may have contributed to the rejection of nesting sites on Sand Dollar Island.
Kraus also reported that 33 nests were depredated on Sand Dollar Island with 31 attributed to coyotes and the other two from ghost crabs and fire ants.
From May through September 27, 2023, according to Monica Lora, MIPD Police Records, “this season there were 94 sea turtle violation cases. These cases include both sea turtle lighting violations and sea turtle protection violations. There are 14 cases pending to go to the Code Magistrate in December.”
Under Marco’s Sea Turtle Lighting Ordinance, “after one warning in a calendar year, excluding an irreparable event (a sea turtle dies) the following shall apply:”
- First Offense: minimum of $150, not to exceed $500 for each offense.
- Second Offense: minimum of $500, not to exceed $1,500.
- Third Offense: minimum of $1,500, not to exceed $2,000.
