Smiling JOe
SoWal Expert
punzy, excellent idea.
-
Trouble logging in? Send us a message with your username and/or email address for help.
-
Hello all! We will be performing a website & forum update soon. You may get logged out so now is the time to make sure your email address in your account is correct - go to your account to check it and update it now. Send us a message with your username and/or email address if you need help.
Sea Turtle Info
- Thread starter 30A Skunkape
- Start date
seagrovegirl
Beach Fanatic
What's with the donation page on the petition????
BeachSiO2
Beach Fanatic
All right people, I got at least 10 of the first 15 people to sign. If everyone else can get 10 we will get something done. Let's move on this, and thanks Punzy for setting this up.
Sand Angel
Beach Lover
Signed.... great idea Punzy! I've been filling in holes here for years, glad to have some help.
I've been filling in holes here for years, glad to have some help.
BeachSiO2
Beach Fanatic
Newspaper article of interest
Hello all. Here is another article I received as part of coastal clippings that is on target. I hope you all enjoy.
Helping sea turtles survive requires beach responsibility
Leave only footprints and keep beaches dark
By FWC staff in the Tampa Bay Newspapers
Article published on Thursday, May 29, 2008
A loggerhead sea turtle hatchling heads to the ocean after hatching out of its nest. The loggerhead is the most common of Florida’s sea turtles. By the time this hatchling reaches the adult state, it will have increased its weight more than 6,000 times.
Ancient creatures of the sea fight a battle each year to reproduce and survive in a world not always hospitable to them.
Sea turtles nesting on Florida’s beaches face an uncertain future, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s scientists. Threats come from encroachment on nesting beaches by coastal development and encounters with pollutants, beach debris and fishing gear.
Five species of sea turtles nest on Florida beaches, with the loggerhead showing up in the largest numbers. Green and leatherback sea turtles also nest in the Sunshine State. Two other species, Kemp’s Ridley and hawksbill sea turtles nest infrequently in Florida but inhabit Florida waters. The FWC lists the loggerhead as a threatened species with the other four listed as endangered.
However, the loggerhead’s status could change because of data collected showing a downward trend since 1998. During the 2007 April to September nesting season, scientists found the lowest number of loggerhead nests in 19 years. At the same time, the number of loggerheads found dead, sick or injured each year in Florida has more than doubled during the past decade.
“If we don’t do something to reverse this trend, the loggerhead will also become endangered,” said Robbin Trindell, an FWC Imperiled Species Program administrator.
Nearly 90 percent of the loggerhead population that nests in the southeastern United States, nests on Florida’s beaches. This population is one of only two large loggerhead nesting populations worldwide.
Sea turtles are air-breathing reptiles well-suited for sea life with a hydrodynamic-shaped shell, large and powerful front flippers. These physical characteristics enable them to dive deep into the ocean and to swim long distances.
Female loggerhead turtles begin coming on shore in the spring with peak months for laying eggs in June and July. The nesting female digs a hole with her hind flippers and then lays approximately 115 eggs. After covering the nest with sand, the massive creature, weighing nearly 300 pounds, makes her way back to the ocean. A female might come ashore two to five times during the nesting season. Amazingly, the females come back to the same beach where they hatched decades earlier. The males, once they make the long crawl after hatching out of the egg, never return to land.
Major disturbances to sea turtle nesting habits come from seawalls and beach nourishment projects. Individuals can help by following safe beach lighting suggestions, filling holes dug for sand castles and picking up litter.
“Just one light can kill thousands of turtles over several years,” Trindell said. “Many lights burn all night, without contributing to human safety.”
Late in the summer, after an incubation of 55-70 days, the hatchlings begin breaking out of their shells and crawling out of the nest. Instinct tells the 1- to 2-inch hatchling to head toward the brightest horizon and away from dark silhouettes. In days long gone in Florida, the brightest horizon shone over the ocean, and the hatchlings would move away from the shadows on the dunes and begin the crawl to the sea. Nest predators might include raccoons, ghost crabs and fire ants. In modern-day Florida, hatchlings must crawl through a battlefield of debris left by humans. Furniture discarded by beachgoers can obstruct a nesting female turtle or become a trap for the hatchlings. Avoiding firework leftovers strewn along the hatchling’s path can cause exhaustion and delay in getting to the water. If stranded on the beach when the sun rises, the hatchling’s chance for survival diminishes and dehydration and sun exposure become hazards.
“We can all help sea turtles survive,” Trindell said. “If we just take personal responsibility, we can go a long way to ensure the sea turtle co-exists with us for many more years to come.”
Hello all. Here is another article I received as part of coastal clippings that is on target. I hope you all enjoy.
Helping sea turtles survive requires beach responsibility
Leave only footprints and keep beaches dark
By FWC staff in the Tampa Bay Newspapers
Article published on Thursday, May 29, 2008
A loggerhead sea turtle hatchling heads to the ocean after hatching out of its nest. The loggerhead is the most common of Florida’s sea turtles. By the time this hatchling reaches the adult state, it will have increased its weight more than 6,000 times.
Ancient creatures of the sea fight a battle each year to reproduce and survive in a world not always hospitable to them.
Sea turtles nesting on Florida’s beaches face an uncertain future, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s scientists. Threats come from encroachment on nesting beaches by coastal development and encounters with pollutants, beach debris and fishing gear.
Five species of sea turtles nest on Florida beaches, with the loggerhead showing up in the largest numbers. Green and leatherback sea turtles also nest in the Sunshine State. Two other species, Kemp’s Ridley and hawksbill sea turtles nest infrequently in Florida but inhabit Florida waters. The FWC lists the loggerhead as a threatened species with the other four listed as endangered.
However, the loggerhead’s status could change because of data collected showing a downward trend since 1998. During the 2007 April to September nesting season, scientists found the lowest number of loggerhead nests in 19 years. At the same time, the number of loggerheads found dead, sick or injured each year in Florida has more than doubled during the past decade.
“If we don’t do something to reverse this trend, the loggerhead will also become endangered,” said Robbin Trindell, an FWC Imperiled Species Program administrator.
Nearly 90 percent of the loggerhead population that nests in the southeastern United States, nests on Florida’s beaches. This population is one of only two large loggerhead nesting populations worldwide.
Sea turtles are air-breathing reptiles well-suited for sea life with a hydrodynamic-shaped shell, large and powerful front flippers. These physical characteristics enable them to dive deep into the ocean and to swim long distances.
Female loggerhead turtles begin coming on shore in the spring with peak months for laying eggs in June and July. The nesting female digs a hole with her hind flippers and then lays approximately 115 eggs. After covering the nest with sand, the massive creature, weighing nearly 300 pounds, makes her way back to the ocean. A female might come ashore two to five times during the nesting season. Amazingly, the females come back to the same beach where they hatched decades earlier. The males, once they make the long crawl after hatching out of the egg, never return to land.
Major disturbances to sea turtle nesting habits come from seawalls and beach nourishment projects. Individuals can help by following safe beach lighting suggestions, filling holes dug for sand castles and picking up litter.
“Just one light can kill thousands of turtles over several years,” Trindell said. “Many lights burn all night, without contributing to human safety.”
Late in the summer, after an incubation of 55-70 days, the hatchlings begin breaking out of their shells and crawling out of the nest. Instinct tells the 1- to 2-inch hatchling to head toward the brightest horizon and away from dark silhouettes. In days long gone in Florida, the brightest horizon shone over the ocean, and the hatchlings would move away from the shadows on the dunes and begin the crawl to the sea. Nest predators might include raccoons, ghost crabs and fire ants. In modern-day Florida, hatchlings must crawl through a battlefield of debris left by humans. Furniture discarded by beachgoers can obstruct a nesting female turtle or become a trap for the hatchlings. Avoiding firework leftovers strewn along the hatchling’s path can cause exhaustion and delay in getting to the water. If stranded on the beach when the sun rises, the hatchling’s chance for survival diminishes and dehydration and sun exposure become hazards.
“We can all help sea turtles survive,” Trindell said. “If we just take personal responsibility, we can go a long way to ensure the sea turtle co-exists with us for many more years to come.”
BeachSiO2
Beach Fanatic
Signed.... great idea Punzy!
Try to get that worse half of yours on the computer to do something good for once instead of just fussin! ;-)
Sand Angel
Beach Lover
Try to get that worse half of yours on the computer to do something good for once instead of just fussin! ;-)
I'll see what I can do about that.
Kurt
Admin
I have lamented the large shovels on these pages in the past. I had intentions of speaking to store owners on 30A but have not gotten it done.
I will offer free advertising on SoWal.com and mountains of great PR and good will to any store who contacts me and lets me know they will discontinue selling the large shovels. I have no doubt that the amount of profit lost in not selling them will be made up many times over by the people reading about them here.
I will offer free advertising on SoWal.com and mountains of great PR and good will to any store who contacts me and lets me know they will discontinue selling the large shovels. I have no doubt that the amount of profit lost in not selling them will be made up many times over by the people reading about them here.
BeachSiO2
Beach Fanatic
Thanks Kurt. I hope this will work as it really is a huge problem on the beach!! Let me know if the owners need any information from so-called "experts" on how bad it is as I will be glad to help get them that information.