ANNA MARIA ISLAND – As Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring volunteers begin checking the beaches this week for early sea turtle nesting activity, its new executive director, Kristen Mazzarella, takes over the watch from the late Suzi Fox.
“I envision following in Suzi’s legacy and to keep it going how it has been with the great community involvement,” Mazzarella said. “My goal is to keep the community educated, engaged and involved.”
Mazzarella has an extensive background with both turtles and shorebirds. She was a senior biologist at Mote Marine Laboratory for 15 years. She was on turtle patrol for 25 years in North and South Carolina and also worked with the Audubon Society for 15 years.
“The group of volunteers (with Turtle Watch) has been very welcoming,” she said. “Manatee County has been amazing; they clearly care a lot about the environment.”
Mazzarella said one of the Turtle Watch board members contacted her during their search for an executive director to see if she was interested in the position.
“I knew Suzi and I had worked with her on various projects,” she said. “I feel that this organization is so important because it’s a conservation program where both the community and the municipalities are very involved.”
There is a core group of 20-25 volunteers who have undergone training with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) to conduct nesting beach surveys, but Mazzarella said volunteers are always needed and welcome.
During the nesting beach surveys, which run from mid-April to the end of October, volunteers patrol every day, keeping an eye on each nest until it has hatched, Mazzarella said.
“That training is done for this year, but certainly volunteers are needed to help with outreach and our adopt-a-nest program,” she said.
Fox’s legacy
Fox began as a volunteer for Turtle Watch in the 1990s. In 1996, she became the FWC’s turtle permit holder for the Island, adding nesting shorebird monitoring and protection to her duties.
She eventually took leadership of Turtle Watch as executive director and under her directorship, the organization grew.
“In three decades, we monitored 7,339 turtle activities, protected 4,454 nests, 301,694 turtle eggs, and watched 271,680 hatchlings depart to become a future generation of loggerheads that will return to the region as they reach maturity,” according to the Turtle Watch website.
Last season, local loggerhead sea turtles broke two records.
The number of hatched nests reached 453 in September, edging out the 2018 record of 447, and a record 35,850 hatchlings exceeded the prior record of 35,788 set in 2018.
The first official day of turtle nesting season on Anna Maria Island, May 1, will be proclaimed “Suzi Fox Day” in the city of Bradenton Beach.
At the Jan. 5 Bradenton Beach City Commission meeting, the proclamation was issued to honor Fox, who served as the organization’s executive director until her death on Sept. 30, 2022.
The proclamation states in part, “Suzi Fox led the organization and its league of volunteers for sea turtle protection to include protection for critical shorebirds.”
The proclamation credits Fox with reaching out to and educating the public about sea turtle and shorebird habitat.
“Suzi’s actions have led Anna Maria Island to expand on ecotourism opportunities and on further educating the public and future generations about our sea turtle and shorebirds habitat and the crucial role we play in ensuring their existence in the future.”
