They’ve been moved, given time to incubate and now they are emerging like mad.
The sea turtles hatching on Anna Maria Island during the 2020 nesting season have weathered unique circumstances on their path to the Gulf of Mexico.
All nests in Bradenton Beach and Holmes Beach laid since season began at the end of April have been relocated north to Anna Maria due to a $17 million beach renourishment project, which started July 8 at 77th Street in Holmes Beach and will continue pumping sand to the shore south to Longboat Pass.
The project is slated to end Oct. 31, paralleling hatching season.
The nests were moved to an area determined most viable based on the condition of the sand, width of the beach and lack of lighting concerns, according to Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring executive director Suzi Fox.
Lights visible from the shoreline can draw sea turtles away from the water, increasing the chances of death by predation, dehydration or exhaustion.
It appeared a private light atop a pole at a Holmes Beach residence shined toward the “nursery” area where relocated nests are hatching and could be causing disorientations.
Fox said Aug. 20 that the property owner doesn’t live there and Holmes Beach code compliance has attempted to contact the owner to turn off the light, which would require the use of a bucket truck due to the pole’s height.
Previously concealed foliage might have led the fixture to be unnoticed.
“It’s lighting the roof of the house and no one is there,” Fox said.
She added that usually she asks people to replace bulbs with Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission-approved bulbs but the light serves no purpose, so it could be shut off.
Fox said there were 65 nests that hatched in the affected area and hatchlings from 60 nests appeared to become disoriented and crawl away from the Gulf and toward the light.
“About 6,000 turtles came out of those nests,” she said. “Of those, we aren’t quite sure how many made it to the water.”
Fox said beachfront residents must make sure lights visible from the shoreline are compliant with sea turtle regulations.
“We just need everybody to do the right thing and make sure they are set with lights on the north end,” she said. “We’ve still got about 200 nests left to hatch and would like to wrap up a successful season.”
For more information on nesting season, contact AMITW executive director Suzi Fox at suzifox@gmail.com or 941-778-5638.