Hatch Season Begins on the Islands!

Hatchling entering the Gulf of Mexico early in the morning in 2010 (Photo by: A. Bryant).

Last night the first loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta) nests laid on Sanibel & Captiva hatched and the hatchlings made their way to the Gulf of Mexico!

Happy World Sea Turtle Day!

In honor of World Sea Turtle Day, please consider doing something nice for the planet's sea turtles. Here are a few suggestions to get you started.

• Reduce your plastic use
• Switch to reusable bags instead of plastic bags
• Pick up garbage on the beach
• Dispose of fishing line & hooks properly
• Turn out or shield lights near the beach
• Avoid using a flashlight on the beach at night
• Fill in holes on the beach
• Support sea turtle conservation organizations
• Educate others about sea turtles

Loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta) crawl on Sanibel Island (Photo by: A. Bryant)

The Greens are Nesting!

Well, one green at least.  Over the weekend we had a green turtle (Chelonia mydas) nest on Sanibel!  This was somewhat unexpected because usually green turtle nests are laid in even years on Sanibel.  This is probably because there are one or two green turtles that return every other year to nest.  This just happens to occur on even years typically.  Now, things will be a little less predictable, but no less exciting!

Shrimping to Blame Not the Oil Spill

An article in the Washington Post highlights a problem many initially attributed to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill-- hundreds of sea turtles, mainly Kemp's Ridleys (Lepidochelys kempii), are washing ashore dead along the Gulf coast.  In 2010, 600 sea turtles washed ashore, this year 563 have been found.  After completing necropsies on almost all of the 2010 turtles and some of this year's turtles, there is evidence that they were caught in shrimp nests, where they drowned. 

The shrimp fishery is required to use turtle excluder devices, also known as TEDs, in their nets.  Use of TEDs became mandatory in the 1990s. Emails obtained by Oceana from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration suggest that in many cases TEDs were not used, and if they were, they were not installed correctly. When installed correctly, they are 97% effective.

  

Happy Endangered Species Day!

All sea turtle species are threatened or endangered.  In honor of sea turtles and Endangered Species Day, choose to do something to benefit these amazing reptiles!  Even small steps can help ensure the survival of sea turtles for generations to come.

• Shield or turn off beachfront lighting- Lighting can disorient sea turtles.
• Reduce your plastic use, especially plastic bags- Sea turtles mistake plastic for their natural foods. Consuming plastic kills sea turtles.
• Dispose of fishing line properly- Sea turtles can become entangled or eat monofilament.
• Pick up garbage on the beach
• Remove all beach furniture, tents, etc from the beach at night- Sea turtles can become entangled in beach furniture.
• Avoid using flashlights on the beach at night- Lights on the beach can cause sea turtles to not come ashore or abandon their nesting attempt.
• Fill in holes on the beach - Large, deep holes can trap adult and hatchling sea turtles. 

Crawling Steadily Ashore

We are a week into sea turtle season and the ladies have been steadily coming ashore. As of today there are eight nests on Sanibel and one nest on Captiva. All nests are loggerhead nests, with the exception of one Kemp's Ridley nest on Sanibel. When the turtles aren't nesting, they are testing out the beach with false crawls, like the very short one on the left. Sanibel has ten false crawls and Captiva has none.

We're off to an early start!

While May 1 is the official start of sea turtle nesting season in Southwest Florida, sea turtles often follow their own calender. On Friday, April 22 a rare Kemp's Ridley turtle (Lepidochelys kempii) came ashore on Sanibel and gave us our first nest of the season. We didn't quite have the first nest in Lee County, that honor went to Cayo Costa with a Loggerhead nest the night before; we had the most interesting nester. Kemp's Ridleys typically nest during the day, but rarely in Florida. There were only eight nests in the entire state in 2011! Their main nesting ground is Rancho Nuevo, Tamaulipas, Mexico, with additional nesting at Padre Island, Texas. Even though they don't often nest in Florida, this isn't Sanibel's first nest. The last documented Kemp's Ridley nest was in 1996. While they are uncommon on Florida's beaches, they are often found in our waters, which provide important foraging habitat. The Kemp's Ridley is the smallest and rarest sea turtle in the world. They are approximately 100 pounds and measure 2- 2 1/2 feet in length at maturity. They are protected under the U.S. Endangered Species Act where they are listed as endangered.