ANNA MARIA, Fla. — After 42 years, a new sea turtle nesting record has been set with still around two months left in the season.
According to the Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring, there were 546 sea turtle nests recorded on Tuesday. That surpasses the initial record of 543 nests, which was set in 1983.
“We are excited that so many sea turtles have decided to nest on Anna Maria,” Kristen Mazzarella, executive director of AMITWSBM, said in a statement. “We can thank the conservation efforts of patrollers that protected nests 25 years ago for producing the hatchlings that are coming ashore to nest in such high numbers this year.”
AMITWSBM says turtle nesting season takes place between April and September.
The organization says they recorded their first hatch on Saturday, and have since only had one other hatch that happened on Tuesday.
Officials are reminding beachgoers to follow these steps during hatching season:
- Make sure to take everything with you when you leave the beach
- Fill in holes, knock down sandcastles and take furniture off the beach
- Don’t abandon fishing gear
- Don’t disturb nesting turtles or emerging hatchlings
- Do contact Florida Fish and Wildlife Rescue to report any dead or injured marine life
- Don’t use artificial light (cell phones, flash photography, fishing lamps) on the beach at night
- If you find a turtle (adult or hatchling) in distress, please call AMITWSBM at 941-301-8434, or FWC at 888-404-3922
Leaders say beachgoers should refrain from using any kind of light during night hours, as the dark skies provide a safe and inviting beach for sea turtles.
“In order to ensure that this incredible number of nests results in a record number of hatchlings making it to the water, we need to do our best to provide a turtle friendly beach.” Mazzarella said.
To keep up with weekly nest numbers click or tap here.