Island law enforcement officers are looking for two people who June 27 vandalized a shorebird nesting area and five sea turtle nests.
The vandals drove over five marked sea turtle nests, breaking stakes and possibly destroying sea turtle eggs. They also killed two black skimmer chicks and injured a third chick.
Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring volunteer Birgit Kremer discovered the damage near dawn on her June 28 beach walk.
According to Holmes Beach Police Sgt. Vern McGowin, the police dispatch received calls June 27 at 10:30 p.m. about people using an unknown vehicle, assumed to be an ATV or golf cart, on the beach in Bradenton Beach and Holmes Beach.
Police already were responding to another situation and did not immediately respond to the call.
AMITW executive director Suzi Fox said the vandalism compromised the organization’s staking program. There are potentially unguarded nests on the stretch of beach between 30th and 35th streets in Holmes Beach. Fox said AMITW won’t know if any eggs were destroyed until after hatching, when the nests can be excavated.
Bradenton Beach Police Officer Brian Hill said there are two sets of tracks going toward one of the damaged turtle nests, leading police to believe that the attack was malicious. “They had lights on. They knew what they were doing,” Hill said. “We’re going to do our best to find them.”
In addition to damaging the sea turtle nests, at least one vehicle was driven through the shorebird nesting area near the 27th Street beach access in Bradenton Beach, where the two black skimmer chicks were killed and a third was injured.
AMITW volunteer Glenn Wiseman took the injured chick to Wildlife Inc. in Bradenton Beach for rehabilitation. Wiseman said the chick would stand a better chance in rehab versus staying in the nest because of its injuries. The parent skimmers did not accept the week-old chick when it was returned to the nest.
“This is ridiculous. It’s senseless,” Hill said.
The nesting shorebirds and sea turtles are protected by local, state and federal law.
“When we find them or the police pin this down, we’ll prosecute under federal and local law,” said Fox, of the volunteer-based AMITW. “These nests don’t belong just to turtle watch or the police. They belong to the whole island.”
Anyone with information on the incident is asked to contact Holmes Beach police at 941-708-5804, Bradenton Beach police at 941-778-6411 or AMITW at 941-778-5638.
State and federal law protect Florida’s shorebirds and sea turtles.
Florida law, Chapter 379.2431(1), states “No person may take, possess, disturb, mutilate, destroy, cause to be destroyed, sell, offer for sale, transfer, molest or harass any marine turtle or its nest or eggs at any time. Upon conviction, a person may be imprisoned for a period of up to 60 days or fined up to $500, or both, plus an additional penalty of $100 for each sea turtle egg destroyed or taken.”
According to the U. S Endangered Species Act of 1973, “No person may take, harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, or capture any marine turtle, turtle nest, and/or eggs, or attempt to engage in any such conduct. Any person who knowingly violates any provision of this act may be assessed a civil penalty up to $25,000 or a criminal penalty up to $100,00 and up to one year imprisonment.”
To protect shorebirds, Florida state law, chapter 68A-27 F.A.C. states that harassment or taking of endangered or threatened birds, their eggs or young is a violation of state law and may subject violators to criminal penalties. The attempt to take or possess any migratory bird, their nest or eggs is a violation of federal law under 16 USC Section 703.