Sea turtle nesting season ends
No oil impact was reported from the Deepwater Horizon spill to the Southwest Florida coastline. No major storms were recorded by the National Hurricane Center in the area as well.
All in all, this was good news for the Turtle Time creatures of the night as nesting season has closed, and the report seems optimistic. Turtle Time founder Eve Haverfield said turtle nesting season this year was status quo as far as the cyclical cycle.
“It was half as good as 2008 and twice as good as 2009,” she said. “Next year, if we compare ourselves to 2009, it may not be as prolific. We hope the winter residents will have sea turtle information in their units if they are renting and turn off exterior porch lights. Call us at 481-5566 if you need pamphlets.”
In all, Turtle Time recorded 100 nests at its monitored beaches (Fort Myers Beach, Bonita Beach, Big Hickory Island, Bunche Beach and a portion of Bokeelia). Compare that with prior years, the numbers were 48 nests for 2009 and 98 for 2008.
On the Beach, the 2010 reported numbers were 23 nests and 1,352 hatchlings, while 2009 saw 11 nests and 937 hatchlings and 2008, netted 44 nests and 2,313 hatchlings.
“Remember, only one to maybe four out of a 1,000 survive through attrition in the Gulf,” reminded Haverfield.
Of the 23 Beach nests, six did not hatch (one was washed away completely), while the others were so inundated by tides that the embryos drowned.
“Unfortunately, because of the Beach grooming techniques of utilizing those logs during beach raking, (the procedure) acts like a box blade,” she said. “Six inches or more of beach is sliced off and straightened. Anytime we have any high tides or tidal surge, there is no hilly area or undulating type of sand berms to divert water, so the tides just rush in and flood those nests.”
Many of the 17 nests that hatched on the Beach were dug in a safer place.
“The nests that were in slightly elevated areas where the sand drained well did very well on Fort Myers Beach,” said Haverfield. “Of the 17 nests, we had a 62 percent overall hatching rate which is not totally great. Had we had more nests hatched, it would have been a whole lot better.”
Haverfield said some nests that were too close to the high tide line were relocated much to a beach goer’s dismay. But, the so-called ‘turtle lady’ knows her job. She has been monitoring beaches in Southwest Florida since 1989.
“Someone on the Beach felt the need to criticize Turtle Time about (the moving of nests),” she said. “Had we not moved those particular nests, our results would have been much, much worse. We generally don’t like to relocate nests, but we will do so when we know the nests are vulnerable. Fortunately, those nests we moved hatched.”
Haverfield stated the goal of Turtle Time during the latter part of nesting season is to get as many hatchlings into the Gulf because of the attrition rate.
“They are part of the food chain,” she said about the hatchlings. “That is why any given sea turtle lays a lot of eggs.
“On the average, a nest will contain 120 eggs. A volunteer found one on Bonita Beach last year with 189 eggs. My personal record (for one nest) is 188 eggs. She beat me by one.”
Two nests on the Beach were reported to have disorientations -one because a Beach resident on the landward side of Little Estero Critical Wildlife Area left nearly every exterior light on and the other could have been caused by hand-held light, according to Haverfield.
“The first disorientation was caused by an enormous glow, and that entire nest of hatchlings went straight toward it and away from the Gulf,” she said. “The second disorientation involved only 10 hatchlings, where four made it into the lagoon. We surmised someone caused it with a flashlight or a fishing lantern. We did a light check to determine that.”
Haverfield applauds Town of Fort Myers Beach Environmental Sciences Coordinator Keith Laakkonen for his efforts in educating and enforcing lighting compliances on the Beach.
“He works so well with residents and businesses,” she said. “He does a wonderful job. I have to say that Beach businesses made a tremendous effort this year as well.”
Haverfield did want to report one particular disorientation on the north end of Bonita Beach, which she believes was caused by a Beach lighting system at Bay Oaks ball fields.
“That nest hatched early in the evening when it was already dark, and we had that nest shielded from behind,” she said. “We were able to follow the tracks, and the hatchlings made it three quarters of the way down to the water and then made a right-angle turn towards the north and into the rock jetties. We received the report those ballpark lights were on, and I have photographs to show those lights are very visible.
“Hopefully, next year, I’d like to see the ball fields put in those special shields so that people can still have their games, and the turtles won’t be affected.
Overall, Haverfield said the turtles had a productive nesting season.
“Although there has been a significant decrease in Loggerhead Sea Turtle nests statewide the past 7-9 years, we’re pleased with our numbers this year,” she said. “In fact, Big Hickory Island had seven nests this year. The last time I saw that many nests there was 2001, after only one nest each year for the past two years.”
Florida Fish & Wildlife Commission provided other promising news regarding sea turtles, according to Haverfield.
“I understand from FWC that throughout the state the Green turtles, the Leatherbacks and the Loggerheads saw increased nesting this year. We can’t really derive a trend from one year. We’re going to need at least 10 years to say we are finally be on the upswing again, but we are cautiously optimistic,” she said.
Now that the sea turtles are moving away from the Beach, Haverfield has advice for those who accidently hook onto a turtle while fishing.
“First of all, if you’re fishing from the pier, don’t reel it up to the top but rather go into the water, and gently guide the turtle onto the shoreline and have someone call me (481-5566) right away,” she said. “If it’s just a minor hooking (like in the flipper) and you can remove the hook, that would be wonderful. If the turtle has swallowed the hook and is difficult to bring into shore, then we ask that the line be cut as close to the beak as possible so that there is no chance that hook gets tangled into something else.”