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Marine Turtles on the Brink by John Christopher Fine, J.D. , Instructor Trainer, FL
M ARINE TURTLES have long been part of human history. In earlier generations, they were taken for food, kept aboard ships, and consumed by sailors and coastal communities. Even today, in some parts of the world, sea turtles are still killed for meat, soup, or eggs. Many more are lost to boat strikes, fishing nets, entanglement in lines, ingestion of plastic waste, and the steady loss of nesting and feeding habitat.
females returning to beaches to lay their eggs. Of the hatchlings that emerge from nests, only a small percentage survive to adulthood. Rick Ratliff, one of the owners of Kyalami Too, a dive charter boat out of Riviera Beach, Florida, has spent years watching turtles return to these waters. A veteran diver, Ratliff praises the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s
turtle monitoring and protection efforts. Enforcing turtle protection laws, he notes, is essential to helping ensure their sur- vival. Volunteers also play an important role. During nesting season, beach patrol vol- unteers work before dawn with tape, stakes, and markers to identify and protect nests. It is not easy work. They must monitor long stretches of beach, mark nests accurately, and sometimes ask beach- goers to move umbrellas, chairs, or other items away from protected areas. Most people comply once they understand the importance of what is being protected. Turtle nests face many threats. Feral dogs, raccoons, skunks, and other pred- ators may dig into nests. Human activity,
Population growth, beachfront develop- ment, artificial lighting, and pollution have all encroached on turtle nesting areas. Seagrass beds, an important food source for some marine turtles, are being damaged or eliminated from shallow coastal waters. Along nesting beaches, lights from ocean- front homes, hotels, streets, and businesses can disorient females coming ashore to nest. Instead of laying their eggs above the high-tide line, turtles may abandon nesting attempts and return to the sea. Beach “renourishment” projects can create additional problems. Sand pumped from offshore areas may be placed on beaches during or near nesting season. Heavy equipment, steep berms, and com-
Photos by John Christopher Fine
Loggerhead Turtles
pacted sand can make it more difficult for females to reach suitable nesting sites. Nests laid too close to the water may be washed away. Mechanical beach cleaning can also threaten hatchlings as they emerge and crawl toward the ocean. South Florida is visited by five of the seven species of marine turtles: loggerhead, green, hawksbill, leatherback, and, more rarely, Kemp’s ridley. Some migrate long distances through the Gulf Stream waters off Florida’s east coast, with
illegal egg collection, beach equipment, and coastal construction can also reduce hatchling survival. Even the color and com- position of sand can matter. Darker sand absorbs more heat, and turtles, like other reptiles, are temperature-dependent when it comes to sex determination. Warmer nests tend to produce more females, while cooler nests produce more males. Changes to beach temperature can therefore have long-term effects on turtle populations.
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