Happy World Sea Turtle Day

In cel­e­bra­tion of today and our pas­sion for con­ser­va­tion, we unveil this aware­ness poster. Arti­fi­cial beach light­ing is one of the many issues that harm the sur­vival rate of sea tur­tles. Both nest­ing sea tur­tles and their hatch­lings face issues caused by these lights.

June 16 is the world sea turtle day!

Every year, sea tur­tles make the long jour­ney to shore in search of a the right spot to lay their eggs. Due to the increase in tourism more hotels, con­dos and hous­es are built by the beach. Today, sea tur­tles face far more chal­lenges when nest­ing. The lights around these devel­oped areas dis­cour­age females from nest­ing. And when a female makes sev­er­al attempts to lay her eggs and has no suc­cess, she may place her eggs in less then ide­al areas or even the ocean. The sur­vival for them in that area is slim—little to none!

The next ones to face the light­ing chal­lenge are the hatch­lings. Sci­en­tists have con­clud­ed that hatch­lings use their instincts to find the ocean. That means fol­low­ing the bright­est light, which hap­pens to be the moon. But  arti­fi­cial lights placed near the shore line make hatch­lings dis­ori­ent­ed. Some may wan­der inland, get run over, die of dehy­dra­tion or pre­da­tion. They become so dis­ori­ent­ed that they nev­er make it to the sea.

For more infor­ma­tion vis­it: Pana­ma City Beach Tur­tle Watch or Sea Tur­tle Conservancy

How you can make a difference too:

If you live by the beach or know some­one that does, let them know about this issue. Encour­age oth­ers to install Tur­tle Safe Light­ing or use blinds and cur­tains to block the light fac­ing the beach.

When you find dis­ori­ent­ed hatch­lings call your local tur­tle watch orga­ni­za­tion or law enforce­ment. They will know what to do. Keep a close eye on the baby but avoid pick­ing it up. There is a hefty fine if you don’t have a per­mit. If it’s a life or death sit­u­a­tion, ask law enforcement.

Vol­un­teer at your local tur­tle watch orga­ni­za­tion. This is an excel­lent way to help raise sea tur­tle sur­vival rate. Above all, you can help spread the word about the impor­tance of their conservation.

If you would like to get a print­able ver­sion and you are a non-prof­it or a mem­ber of a tur­tle watch orga­ni­za­tion send us an email with your infor­ma­tion and we can send you a ver­sion that includes your web­site link.