Monitoring the beaches by code compliance officials is an essential component of creating a safe and productive habitat for sea turtles on Anna Maria Island during nesting season.
The season lasts through Oct. 31. During this period, female sea turtles go ashore to leave a clutch of eggs in nests that remain unattended until they yield a new generation of hatchlings.
As of May 17, 48 nests were observed by Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring. AMITW also had documented 39 false crawls, incidents when turtles abandon a nest attempt.
Human interference — improper lighting of property along the beachfront, for example — can distract adult turtles from nesting and also lead hatchlings away from water.
Humans also can interfere by distracting the large female turtles with flashlights and cellphone lighting.
The Islander spoke to officials from island cities about code compliance during nesting season, as each municipality has regulations to enforce.
Jayson Clayton, code compliance officer in Holmes Beach, said his division started checking the beach in April.
“I’m out there either after sunset or before sunrise just to see if anything’s changed or if there are any infractions,” he said May 1.
If there is lighting that is too bright, Clayton said he contacts the property owner or manager right away.
Police Chief John Cosby described a similar process in Bradenton Beach, saying in an interview May 2 that the city is in close contact with AMITW.
Cosby said staff go out at night to look for issues and, to date, the lighting is mostly under control.
“We had a couple areas where we’re having issues with streetlights and the city’s working with (Florida Power & Light Company) to make those corrections,” Cosby said.
Anna Maria city clerk LeAnne Addy said via email May 3 that the northernmost city also monitors the beaches as needed.
She said code enforcement officers have attended multiple workshops on the importance of turtle- and wildlife-friendly lighting.
Besides lighting, obstacles — beach toys, furniture and human-made holes and sand castles — can impede a sea turtle’s movement.
Addy said the Anna Maria public works department patrols the beach looking for litter and items left on the shore.
Both Clayton and Cosby said they fill holes, which can be especially obstructive.
Clayton also said a county worker uses a sandgrater and travels 15-20 blocks north and 5-10 blocks south from its base at the Manatee Public Beach at 4000 Gulf Drive, Holmes Beach, raking the sand.
“It’s a collaborative effort,” he said. “It needs to be everyone that watches out for the beach.”
Dispatch from the beach
Turtles have been coming in strong the week of May 13, with a great increase in the number of crawls over the week prior.
The least tern colony is doing well and the number of nests in the colony increased to 12 the week of May 13.
We continue to see a lot of large holes on the beach and would like to encourage the public to fill their holes and level their sandcastles to create a flat beach before they leave for the day, so that turtles do not get stuck in them.
— Kristen Mazzarella, AMITW executive director
