ANNA MARIA ISLAND – With the loss of sand dunes from Hurricanes Helene and Milton last year, Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring Executive Director Kristen Mazzarella is concerned about a possible increase in sea turtle disorientation in this year’s upcoming season.
“Without dunes as a barrier, hatchling and adult sea turtles that head towards artificial light may find their way into the road,” Mazzarella wrote in a March 25 email to The Sun. “This is definitely a concern and we are in contact with FWC (the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission), FPL (Florida Power and Light) and the municipalities on AMI to let them know about this concern such that lighting issues may be addressed prior to the start of sea turtle nesting season on May 1st.”
In addition to serving as a shield from artificial lights, Mazzarella wrote that the dunes provide a dark background that is a critical cue for sea turtles.
“They go away from dark shadows and towards bright horizons. Sea turtles need the dark background of dunes and vegetation to contrast with the light of the night sky over the water, so they don’t get confused about which direction to go to head to the Gulf,” she wrote. “If the background is as bright as or brighter than the night sky over the water, they will not know which direction to go and will either travel in circles or head towards the brightest light, which is often the artificial light.”
In advance of the official start of nesting season on May 1, Turtle Watch volunteers will begin patrols on Tuesday, April 15 to look for any new nests.
“We have not seen any turtle activity yet,” Mazzarella wrote. “On AMI, we generally get nesting loggerhead and green turtles which do not usually start nesting until late April or May. Leatherbacks have started nesting already in Florida but we have never had a leatherback nest on AMI… yet.”
She also said that there have been no sightings of nesting shorebirds on Anna Maria Island so far this year.
“Not yet, but we are always watching,” she wrote.
Mazzarella offered the following tips for anyone who may see a sea turtle nest or a turtle in distress.
- Please call AMITW at 941-301-8434 as soon as possible if you see a nesting turtle or turtle nest prior to April 15. Once patrols begin, volunteer turtle patrols will survey the entire island every morning and will locate all the turtle crawls and mark the ones that are nests with protective stakes and flagging tape.
- Remember that sea turtles are protected by the Endangered Species Act. If you see a sick, injured or dead sea turtle on the beach or in the water, please also call AMITW or FWC. AMITW’s stranding team is standing by to help rescue sick and injured sea turtles and collect important information on dead sea turtles.
- If the turtle is painted with an X, that means that someone from our team has already attended to the turtle and it will be disposed of by the local authorities.
