04/27/2024
Be a Sea Turtle Hero! Use red light on the beach at night.
🐢 Help protect our precious sea turtles during nesting season by using red lights! 🌊 White light can impair their vision and cause them to become disoriented on their return to the ocean, and it can even deter them from nesting altogether. On the other hand, red lights emit a narrow portion of the visible light spectrum, and research has shown that they are much less likely to disturb, deter, or disorient sea turtles. Join us in making a difference and shining a light on conservation efforts for these amazing creatures!
Sea turtle nesting season is from May 1st to October 31st. You can be a sea turtle hero by following these steps:
· Pick Up Trash
· Leave It Flat – if you dig holes, fill them in! If you build sandcastles, knock them down before leaving. These are big obstacles for the nesting females.
· Lights Out - Do not use flashlights or other bright white lights on the beach at night. Draw curtains or shades to help shield interior lighting from the beach.
· Leave No Trace - Remove ALL recreational beach items (e.g. tents, canopies, floats, chairs, toys, etc) from the beach EACH night.
· Do Not Disturb - If you are fortunate to see a sea turtle nesting, keep a respectable distance minimum of 50ft, stay out of her line of sight, remain quiet and DO NOT use flash photography. When she leaves, please stay out of the nesting area. These are protected species - disturbing, touching or harassing a nest, hatchling or sea turtle is illegal.
· If you see someone disturbing a nest or sea turtle, please call local law enforcement. Touching or disturbing a sea turtle, hatchling or its nest is a THIRD DEGREE FELONY, punishable by up to 5 years in prison, a $5,000 fine and an additional penalty of $100 per egg. You can read the full statute here:http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0300-0399/0379/Sections/0379.2431.html
