Just 15 hatchlings from the 2021 sea turtle nesting season might live to 2052.
Odds are not in hatchlings’ favor.
This could be why Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring volunteers work in the morning hours from late April through October to locate nests and protect them from people and animals.
The most common sea turtle to nest on AMI is the loggerhead.
The adult females lay, on average, 114 eggs per nest, four times per season, every two to three years, according to data provided by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
Only one in 1,000 hatchlings survive to adulthood.
The 2021 season produced 15,725 hatchlings.
This takes us to 15 hatchlings. And of the 15, only the females will return to island beaches to nest 30-plus years from hatching.
While sea turtles face many challenges in the open water, turtle watch volunteers concentrate on what might impact them on the shore, during nesting, incubation and emergence. The challenges largely exist because of people and include:
- Holes dug on the beach;
- Lighting that is not turtle-friendly;
- Trash that brings animals, such as raccoons and outdoor cats that disturb nests and eat eggs and hatchlings.
Residents, business owners and visitors can help by filling holes before leaving the beach, making certain lights facing the beach are turtle-friendly, pulling the window shades on beach-facing windows, and picking up trash, towels and beach chairs.
AMITW also offers nest adoptions, with donations creating a fund to support educational programs and pay for educational handouts.
Volunteers make the plaques purchased through the program.
Go to islandturtlewatch.com and click on “get involved” for more information.