HOLMES BEACH – Four turtle hatchlings that had fallen into a hole on the beach were found by Holmes Beach Code Enforcement staff on the morning of July 16.
While entrapped, the turtles were using up energy they needed for their long swim to the floating sargassum line where they will spend the next few years.
“You can prevent this,” Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring posted on its Facebook page. “Fill in your holes and spread the word that by filling our holes and leaving the beach flat, we can all help share the beach with sea turtles!”
A code enforcement officer called Turtle Watch at 941-301-8434 to report the hatchlings, which were later safely released to the Gulf of Mexico.
“We’ve had at least two nests this season that have had hatchlings trapped in holes on their way to the water,” Turtle Watch Executive Director Kristen Mazzarella said.
Besides unfilled holes in the sand, another ongoing hazard to turtles is beach furniture that is left out overnight.
“We are in contact with all (three) municipalities on the Island,” Mazzarella said. “We let them know when we see beach furniture left out overnight and they usually come to attend to it – either remove it or speak to the folks that left it out.”
She said all of the municipalities are very responsive when they hear from Turtle Watch volunteers.
“We do not tag or remove furniture that’s been left out,” she said. “We leave that to code enforcement. Beach furniture has definitely been a problem on the entire Island, but since hatching season started, our focus has been primarily on lighting and disorientations.”
Lights facing the beaches can disorient turtle hatchlings on their way to the water.
Mazzarella said tent canopy structures with sandbags on the legs have been left on the beach often, with the structure left flat on the ground.
“I don’t think people realize that this is still an entanglement hazard for nesting turtles and needs to be removed just like all the other furniture,” Mazzarella said.
