Handout- J. Stinson 2-13-17Florida Fish
and Wildlife
Conservation
Commission
Commissioners
Brian S. Yablonskl
Chairman
Tallahassee
Aliese P. "Uesa" Priddy
Vice Chairman
lmmokalee
Ronald M. Bergeron
Fort Lauderdale
Richard Hanes
Oviedo
Bo Rivard
Panama City
Charles W. Roberts III
Tallahassee
Robert A. Spottswood
Key West
Executive Staff
Nick Wiley
Executive Director
Eric Sutton
Assistant Executive Director
Jennifer Fitzwater
Chief of Staff
Division of Habitat and
Species Conservation
Thomas Eason, Ph.D.
Director
(850) 488-3831
(850) 921-7793 FAX
Managing fish and wildlife
resources for their long-term
well-being and the benefit
of people.
620 South Meridian Street
Tallahassee. Florida
32399-1600
Voice: (850) 488-4676
Hearing/speech-impaired:
(800) 955-8771 (T)
(800) 955-8770 (V)
MyFWC.com
!14iiteal tt 2/13/17 - JJ
February 10, 2017
Commissioner John Stinson
800 Seminole Road
Atlantic Beach, FL 32233
jstinson@coab.us
RE: Sea Turtle Protection, Atlantic Beach
Dear Commissioner Stinson:
Thank you for your recent inquiry about the City of Atlantic Beach's consideration to
post the dates when sea turtles lay their nests on City beaches on your website. It is
great that the City is considering promoting education about these threatened and
endangered sea turtles; however, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation
Commission (FWC) is concerned about the potential for negative unintended
consequences for nesting and hatchling sea turtles. There is a variety of reasons for
our concerns, but in general sea turtles do best when there is less disturbance on the
beach so the adult females can lay their nest and hatchlings can emerge with no
interference. Posting specific information about nesting dates and locations could
result in more people on the sea turtle nesting beach at night in proximity to hatching
sea turtle nests. This could significantly increase the risk of harassment of, or harm to,
nesting females, their nests and hatchlings on your beaches, and we strongly
recommend against it.
FWC staff supports the right of all citizens to enjoy Florida's natural resources and
wildlife in ways that do not result in disturbance on the sea turtle nesting beach.
Previous studies and observations have documented that human presence on the
beach at night can result in female turtles returning to the water without nesting,
abandoning nesting mid -way, or spending less time covering their nests making the
eggs and hatchlings vulnerable to predators. Hatchlings may also alter natural
behaviors, putting them at risk to predators or disrupting critical emergence
behaviors. Thus, there is a risk of harassment or harm (take), even if unintended,
whenever there are more people on the nesting beach at night. Take is a violation of
state and federal law. The Florida Marine Turtle Protection Act, Florida Statute
379.2431(1) further clarifies the consequences for take of marine turtles, their nests,
or hatchlings
(http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cf n?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=03
00-0399/03 79/Sections/03 79.2431. html).
We encourage the City to consider posting general information about the species of
sea turtles that nest on your beaches and information on how people can protect sea
turtles locally, such as adopting and enforcing a sea turtle lighting ordinance, as
Jacksonville Beach and Neptune Beach have done. The City could also provide
practical information that would result in real benefits to sea turtles on Atlantic
Commissioner Stinson
February 10, 2017
Page 2
Beach, such as filling in holes or removing beach furniture, boats and other items at
the end of the day to limit entrapment of sea turtles. These and other suggestions for
sharing the beach with sea turtles are available on our website at
http://myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/managed/sea-turtles/. In addition, FWC provides
information on programs that are authorized by our agency for citizens to observe
marine turtles. We also direct people to captive facilities, where they can view
different life stages of sea turtles in a controlled environment safe for the animals and
the people.
FWC staff are available to assist if the City decides to develop and implement a
lighting ordinance, or if we can assist in identifying the best information to provide to
the public about how to protect sea turtles while enjoying Florida beaches. Please
contact Dr. Robbin Trindell at (850)922-4330 if you require additional information.
Sincerely,
A gy
Carol A. Knox, Leader
Imperiled Species Management Section
cc: Dr. Anne Meylan, FWC
Ms. Jennifer Burns, Beaches Sea Turtle Patrol
Mr. Heath Rauschenberger, FWS
Mr. David Godfrey, STC
Mr. Scott Eastman, EE