No Lights on the Beach!

Hundreds of freshly hatched loggerheads marched toward the wrong light and perished needlessly on Bonita Beach in recent weeks. I was reading an article today that was about more turtles following the wrong light, with most of them getting killed or dying. It is so important to not shine light toward or on the beach during sea turtle nesting season.

Baby Turtles Here and There

Baby Sea Turtles Here and There

Here on Sanibel Island, we have had a few nests hatch in the past couple of weeks. Sanibel Captiva Conservation Foundation's Amanda Bryant, Biologist and our head turtle lady, along with a large group of volunteers, do everything they can to help the new hatchlings survive. Nests are dug 3 days after they hatch by an SCCF permittee, who counts the shells and rescues any stragglers. Most of the time a few stragglers are found, still in the nest. Those babies are usually kept in a bucket,damp and dark, until they are released at their nesting site, later that night. The cover of darkness, when there are less preditors, provides them a better chance for survival.

Many volunteers are working to save the sea turtles all along our coastlines.

Volunteers helping save baby turtles on Bonita Beach.

Volunteers helping sea turtles on Anna Maria Island.

Huge Leatherback Visits Southwest Florida

There was an unexpected visit by an endangered, 500 to 600 lb Leatherback sea turtle, Monday at Delnor-Wiggins State Park, Naples.

The same turtle was spotted again today on Big Hickory Island off of Bonita Beach. It is being transported to Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota.

You just never know who's coming to visit. :-)


Update on the longline fishing problem.

Turtle Season Best in Seven Years

Even though nests were lost during the summer storms, the hatchling count was still a pleasant improvement over previous years. Read what the area monitors have to say about the numbers in their particular areas.