ENGLEWOOD — This year may not break records for turtle nesting, but it is shaping up to be a banner year for the reptiles on Manasota Key and other local beaches.
This baby loggerhead instinctively heads towards the Gulf — unless it is disoriented by artificial lights or disturbed by people. More and more sea turtles are nesting on local beaches and their nests have begun to hatch. SUN FILE PHOTO
So far this nesting season, as of Aug. 13, sea turtle patrols on Manasota Key documented 4,777 loggerhead nests, 290 green and one Kemp's ridley nest.
For the entire season last year, 4,634 loggerheads nested on Manasota Key, along with 154 green and two Kemp's ridley nests. Nesting season extends from May 1 to Oct. 31.
Zoe Bass isn't that surprised. Bass, along with Wilma Katz, is the state primary permit holder overseeing Coastal Wildlife Club's volunteer sea turtle patrols on Manasota Key.
Fortunately, from reports Bass received from volunteers, storm surge from Tropical Depression-Tropical Storm Fred only washed over and did not inundate nests with water. Turtle eggs can survive washovers, but not inundation of seawater that displaces oxygen in the sand.
Bass reported accretion of sand along portions of the Gulf shoreline north of the Sarasota-Charlotte county line on Manasota Key.
Bass did issue a warning: Keep lights off on the beach and fill in any holes.
Nests have begun hatching all over Southwest Florida beaches, and artificial lights, including flashlights, can cause the hatchlings to be disorientated as they emerge from the nests and scramble towards the Gulf.
Holes left on the beach can become death traps for the hatchlings, which are only 3- or 4-inches long.
To learn more about sea turtles and sea turtle nesting, visit my fwc.com.
Ali H. Johnston, MBA in Real Estate
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