Many infant turtles lost after hatching
The morning of July 28 was not a happy one for Turtle Time, Inc., its founder or anyone involved with assisting in its conservation efforts on Fort Myers Beach. That’s when volunteers reported that roughly 167 out of 222 hatchlings from two different nests at two different areas became disoriented due to lights. The infants steered away from the destined Gulf, became unaccounted for and presumably died.
The incidents at the two nests -one at Lynn Hall Park near Times Square and the other by Gulf Street north of Flamingo Road- was very unsettling for Turtle Time, Inc. Founder Eve Haverfield. She believes their disorientation caused by improper lighting may have directed them away from the Gulf’s horizon where they swim to safety and return 20-50 years later.
“The problem with light is that it travels,” said Haverfield. “You don’t have to have the light right by the nest in order for hatchlings to become disoriented. Some birds probably got to them. We know some ghost crabs got them. I hope they made it to the water and maybe high tide swept some of them away.”
Haverfield says the tracks usually tell the story.
“Tracks are very, very visible in the morning,” she said. “The bottom line is that we cannot just have piecemeal compliance. It has to be complete compliance.”
The Gulf Street nest produced 121 eggs. Of that number, 120 hatched; two were found stuck in the nest; one was found dead on beach and 117 were not found.
“At nest #3 (Gulf Street), we had it shielded because there was some concern coming from the south end involving interior lights from condos and hotels on the beach,” Haverfield said. “The nest was at the portion of the beach where the beach crescents and you can see all the lights from the northern (Estero Island) businesses. Lights that are 30 degrees up from the horizon are beacons for turtles; the ones that they respond to.”
Haverfield said that once the hatchlings emerged past the shield they made a turn to the north. It is still unclear where the light came from.
“We saw the tracks 300 feet away from the water,” she said. “What I do know is that those hatchlings responded to a light that they saw. To crawl parallel to the water just 300 feet away, you know that the light was compelling.”
The Lynn Hall Park nest produced 101 hatchlings. Of that, nine were rescued; four were stuck in the nest; 38 made it to the water judging by the tracks and 50 were unfound. One of the rescued hatchlings was found wondering around the populated square.
“This is a result of the bright lights near the pier,” Haverfield said. “I know code enforcers have been working with some of these businesses. If all these lights would have been angled so that you don’t see the point source, there wouldn’t have been this problem. Point source and deflection initiated the disorientation. According to the tracks, they all went straight down to the water and suddenly, at mid-beach, they must have seen the light to the left. You can see in the sand the about face that they did. I followed the tracks in the morning.
Haverfield remembers when Times Square was “rebuilt” in 1995. Proper lighting for conservationist efforts were applauded by many in the state.
“Times square set a standard for florida,” she said. “It was one of the first communities to put in low-pressure sodium lights, where the point source is inside a nautical canister.”
What happened to that standard?
“I don’t know,” Haverfield said. “The Town put in some really bright light. Either shield the lights properly, use a lower wattage or use lights inside a cannister so that when the turtles come out they don’t go towards the electric lights. They should be heading towards the horizon.”
Haverfield said one Times Square business -The Beach Pierside Grill- has worked very diligently to become turtle friendly.
“Their florescent sign goes off at 9 p.m.,” she said. “I know that last year they had little table lamps and Owner Martin York had these tiny pocket flashlights with something that said we are doing this to save the turtles. We were so pleased with that. If everyone had that positive attitude and our tourists and visitors can still enjoy our businesses, wouldn’t that be a wonderful balance?”
Haverfield said the reason to save the species is that sea turtles are an indicator species.
“Like the canary in a coal mine. when a canary starts to sing to the miners, that means the oxygen is getting depleted,” she said. Sea turtles are like the canaries of the ocean. When sea turtles start dying or disappearing, there’s something wrong with the water. Ultimately, we are affected too.
We need to pay attention to and cherish them.”