Sea turtle experts hoping for record nesting numbers this year (PBP)

Wonderful news. Our Endangered Species Act is working as intended. We will get even better protection for endangered sea turtles and whales with the St. Augustine National Historical Park and National Seashore. We can preserve our Old Florida environment for future generations. Yes we will! www.staugustgreen.com



(Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission)

Sea turtle experts hoping for record nesting numbers this year

Bill DiPaolo Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
6:55 p.m Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2017


(Photo/Thomas Cordy)
STORY HIGHLIGHTS

JUPITER

Wednesday is the start of the sea turtle nesting season in Palm Beach County and experts are hoping for another huge year.

Loggerhead sea turtles set a record for nests in northern Palm Beach County last year, according to officials at Loggerhead Marinelife Center.

LMC officials and volunteers monitor the nests along the 10-mile stretch of beach from the northern Palm Beach County line south to John D. MacArthur Beach State Park.

Both 2013 and 2015 were record-breaking numbers for greens in the state of Florida. Although it can be difficult to predict nesting numbers for loggerhead and leatherback sea turtles, LMC officials still expect a successful year for loggerheads and a normal year for leatherbacks, according to Dr. Justin Perrault, LMC’s associate director of research.

“We’re expecting a high green sea turtle nesting count this year, as greens tend to have alternating high to low nesting years,” Perrault said.

The nesting season runs to Oct. 31.

Sea turtles don’t nest every year and are a long-lived species, making it difficult to compare sea turtle nesting year to year, Sarah Hirsch, LMC’s data manager, said.

“We’ve seen a steady increase in the local populations, most likely due to the effect of conservation programs like the Endangered Species Act,” Hirsch said. “This is why it’s so important to conduct long-term studies on sea turtles — it really helps us determine their overall health if we can look at data that’s been collected over the course of 30, 40 or 50 years.”

Waterfront residents are required to shield or redirect lights illuminating any area of the shoreline that may be used by nesting sea turtles from March through October.

Nests are checked daily by LMC volunteers and staff for signs of hatchling emergence, erosion, tampering or if a predator has tried to dig up the nest. The data provides information on the number of hatchlings produced.

Five Florida counties — Brevard, Indian River, St. Lucie, Martin and Palm Beach — are the most important loggerhead nursery areas in the Western Hemisphere, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Harming or harassing sea turtles, their nests or hatchlings is illegal. Sea turtles are protected by the U.S. Endangered Species Act of 1972 and Florida Statute Chapter 370. A man last year was arrested in Tequesta for stealing sea turtle eggs.