The Sea Turtles of Sanibel and Captiva Islands

According to SeaWorld’s website, 90% of sea turtles nesting in the continental United States do so on Florida beaches. During the nesting season on Sanibel and Captiva Islands off Florida’s Gulf Coast, sea turtle eggs and hatchlings are prone to predators and storms. From May through October, hungry predators dig for eggs or snatch defenseless hatchlings. Nests are washed away or buried with an excessive amount of sand. Some eggs are not fertilized or do not hatch for other biological reasons. It’s all part of the circle of life but mankind always seems to mess with nature and often not in a good way.

The Sanibel Captiva Conservation Foundation (SCCF) was incorporated to preserve natural resources and wildlife habitats on the islands. As part of its sea turtle program, more than 100 local volunteers assist the SCCF with research and monitoring, according to SCCF’s website. Four of the turtles the program protects are listed as endangered: Leatherback, Hawksbill, Kemp’s Ridley, and Green. Although they have been observed, the Leatherback and Green sea turtles rarely nest on Sanibel and Captiva Islands. The Loggerhead sea turtle is listed as a threatened species and is the most common island nester.

Regarding the sea turtle population trend, the SCCF reports the number of nests on Sanibel and Captiva from 2002 to 2008 showed a downward trend. The number of nests increased in 2008, but that improvement was short-lived and has since been declining, with 2009 and 2010 being some of the worst years on record. Based on SCCF monitoring data for 2011, almost 4,400 eggs were laid in 277 nests on Sanibel Island. Only 187 eggs were recorded as hatched. That’s a meager 4% birth rate.
There are numerous ways we can protect sea turtles but the most obvious is to obey the Federal Endangered Species Act, the local marine protection ordinances, and other enforcement regulations. This includes the islands’ leash law, which says all dogs on the beach must be leashed and cannot be allowed to disturb nests or sea turtles. As noted on SCCF’s website, it is a federal crime to disturb sea turtle nests and nesting turtles. It is also against the law to possess sea turtle eggs, body parts, or the turtles themselves.

Many enforcement regulations address beachfront lighting. Artificial lighting from buildings, parking lots, and flashlights can discourage turtles from nesting. If females see lights on a beach, they may believe its daylight and not go ashore because they are nocturnal egg layers. Excessive beach noise also discourages females from coming ashore. Eggs are then laid in the sea where they perish. These “false crawls” were recorded 496 times in 2011 by the SCCF. Artificial lighting can also confuse sea turtles, which cause them to remain on land where they could dehydrate or become easy prey. If we observe laws and use common sense, we will no longer be the beach bullies that threaten the sea turtle population.