Five months into the season, Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring’s data show nesting has produced 15,873 hatchlings.
AMITW had inventoried 283 nests on the island as of Sept. 11, and another 75 nests had yet to hatch in a season that will conclude around Oct. 31.
“We continue to monitor for new nests and also check every posted nest for hatch or disturbances,” AMITW executive director Kristen Mazzarella said. “We are currently monitoring the beach for our regular patrols, as well as the active beach nourishment project at Coquina Beach.”
AMITW is also monitoring disorientations.
From Sept. 5-11, 33% of the nests that hatched had disorientations.
“Unfortunately, 38 disoriented hatchlings from three nests were found dead in the road,” Mazzarella said.
So far this season, 79 hatches involved disorientations for an estimated 2,293-5,210 hatchling disorientations. Some 222 hatchlings have been found dead.
The disorientation rate is highest in Bradenton Beach, at 47%, followed by 35% in Holmes Beach and 5% in Anna Maria.
“AMITW continues to report all disorientations to the local code enforcement, and we’ve contacted 10 properties with lights that may cause disorientations to explain to them the problem and ask to help them find a turtle-friendly solution so we can reduce the number of disorientations in the final few weeks of the season,” Mazzarella said.
She added, “We really appreciate the response we have gotten to our requests and the help we have had from renters and visitors. To all these properties, AMITW wants to give a huge thank you! There are 75 nests left on the beach that have a better chance of making it to the water because of you.”
People can call AMITW’s 24-hour hotline at 941- 301-8434 if they encounter a disoriented turtle.
By the numbers
As of Sept. 11, AMITW reported 459 sea turtle nests, 567 false crawls, 224 hatched nests, and 15,873 hatchlings.