Somber year for sea turtle nests
Hurricanes, heavy rain led to low survival rate on Fort Myers Beach in 2024
It was a tough year for threatened sea turtles on Fort Myers Beach, where nests of loggerheads experienced significant hardships from three hurricanes and other heavy rainfall events in 2024.
While 109 loggerhead sea turtle nests were identified, only 28 of those nests had hatchlings, Turtle Time founder Eve Haverfield said. The majority of the loggerhead sea turtle nests were washed out and the embryos drowned. In some of the nests, only one or two of the hatchlings made it out. Only 21% of the eggs in the 109 nests survived on Fort Myers Beach.
“Fort Myers Beach was hit very hard,” Haverfield said.
Haverfield said half of the nests on Fort Myers Beach were washed out during a rain event in June. Some of the loggerhead sea turtles re-nested after June but some of those nests were wiped out by Hurricane Debby in July and then Hurricane Helene in September, Haverfield said.
“It’s nature,” Haverfield said.
In comparison, Bonita Beach had a 44% survival rate for its nests, Haverfield said. Bonita Beach has a different topography and more vegetation to protect its beach than Fort Myers Beach does.
The number of total nests on Fort Myers beach were the same as 2022, giving some optimism to Haverfield that the sea turtle population that nests on Fort Myers Beach each year is still healthy. In 2023, there were 71 loggerhead sea turtle nests. Loggerheads lay nests on average every other year and are a threatened species protected under the Endangered Species Act.
Lighting violations led to deadly disorientations last year
Haverfield said that lighting violations continue to be an ongoing problem on Fort Myers Beach and they led to deadly consequences for sea turtle hatchlings last year.
“I can deal with nature more than people not willing to share the beach,” Haverfield said.
Haverfield said that there were six bad disorientations of sea turtle hatchlings this past year, including several deadly disorientations of turtle hatchlings where dead hatchlings were found in the road on Estero Boulevard near Connecticut St. and south of the Sterling Avenue intersection. “We scraped them off the road,” Haverfield said. “It was pretty bad.”
Haverfield said the hatchlings were attracted to light on the other side of Estero Boulevard.
“Some of them, we were able to follow to the Gulf and some went landward of the berm,” Haverfield said.
Haverfield said most of the problem was situated on the southern end of the island where drapes weren’t closed or outdoor lights weren’t shielded. Part of Haverfield’s work involves notifying the town of the turtle hatchling disorientations as well as the state.
“There is room for improvement. Much needs to be done to inform the residents and guests on Fort Myers Beach,” Haverfield said.
Outdoor, unshielded non-amber lights are prohibited on Fort Myers Beach from 9 p.m. to 7 a.m. during turtle nesting season from May 1 to October 31. The town’s turtle lighting ordinance also requires drapes and curtains to be closed over windows during that time.
The Town of Fort Myers Beach Clerk’s Office had just two records of turtle lighting ordinance violations being issued last year in response to a Sunshine Law request from the Fort Myers Beach Observer.
According to town records posted to the town’s code compliance website under turtle lighting ordinance violations, there were five cases opened for turtle lighting ordinance violations documented on the website last year though it is not clear if that is all of them.
There were two notices of violation issued and three were still listed as “under investigation” as of last month under the code compliance website though they were issued in May and September of last year.
The town’s enforcement of its turtle lighting ordinance last year differed vastly from 2022, when the town issued 220 warnings for lighting violations. Of those violations, the town issued 44 citations with a total of $19,050 in fines.
The enforcement of the turtle lighting ordinance is largely overseen by Environmental Projects Manager Chadd Chustz though Chustz has been with the town since prior to the latest administration and council oversight which has emphasized less code enforcement in general over the past two years.
Chustz said the town’s staff prefers to notify property owners of lighting violations first by phone or email by educating them before administrative citations are issued. “When lighting issues are observed, staff’s preference is to educate the property owners via phone call or email to resolve the issue. If the issue is not resolved in a timely manner, then written warnings and citations will be issued,” Chustz said.
Of the two notices of violation under the town’s turtle lighting ordinance issued last year that are shown under the town’s record of code violations on its website, one violation was issued to Surf Style on Old San Carlos Boulevard in May of last year for exterior lighting work without a permit and for the lighting being visible from the beach. According to town documents, a hearing was scheduled for July 3 though the case remains open. There is no record of any town magistrate hearings from July 3. Another case for the property states that it is still under investigation.
The Estero Beach and Tennis Club, at 7302 Estero Boulevard on the south end of the island, was cited in May for replacing its exterior lighting without a permit with the exterior lighting visible from the beach. The lights were found to not be fully shielded. A notice of violation was issued in June. The last update to the file on the town’s website for the property states that an insurance claim restoration representative discussed the notice of violation and said they are awaiting insurance paperwork “for the clearance and that work has been done to correct the violation since the violation date.”
Two other properties remain under investigation since last year as of January.
Though not listed under the town’s code compliance site, the town issued a warning letter to the property owner of the U.S. Post Office at 200 Carolina Avenue for violating the town’s lighting ordinance with bright lights that were put up without a permit. The property owner has since corrected the lighting issue.
in an email in response to questions, Chustz said the “community as a whole has been responsive and proactive in addressing sea turtle lighting. Most of the lighting issues have been due to property owner attempts to illuminate their property for safety and discourage trespass while re-building. The Town is committed to working with owners and contractors to illuminate their property to address safety concerns, and comply with the Town’s lighting standards and sea turtle conservation efforts.”
In the coming months, Chustz said staff will be reaching out to properties with non-compliant lights to prepare for sea turtle nesting season, which begins on May 1.
“It was a disappointing year,” Haverfield said. Haverfield is optimistic this year will be better.
“Hopefully with a wider beach, hopefully the sand will turn out to be good sand.”
The turtles, she said, “will be back.”
“They will definitely come back.”
Fort Myers Beach Observer Editor Nathan Mayberg can be reached at NMayberg@breezenewspapers.com