Pensacola Beach Celebrates First Sea Turtle Hatch of the Season

Pensacola Beach celebrated its first sea turtle hatch of the season in the evening of Sunday, July 24. 84 loggerhead hatchlings safely reached the Gulf of Mexico, despite being disoriented by artificial lighting. Escambia County Sea Turtle Patrol volunteers arrived on site in time to assist with hatchling recovery. 

Nearly 60% of all turtle hatchlings will be disorientated by land-based lights, which can cause them to wander away from the Gulf of Mexico. Hatchlings that don’t reach the water quickly risk dehydration, starvation, and predation. Disoriented hatchlings can also wander into busy roads, garages, and swimming pools. Permitted volunteers are trained in disoriented hatchling response and recovery, however, recovery efforts still rely on having volunteers in the right place at the right time. 

Dark beaches are the best assurance for ensuring hatchling turtles make it to the water where they belong. 

Every hatchling counts! Help protect hatchling turtles by remembering:

• Lights Out! Both hatchlings and nesting turtles need dark beaches to find the Gulf of Mexico. Leave the flashlights and cell phones at home or use a red flashlight on the beach at night. Turn off beach-facing lights and close windows and curtains to keep our beaches dark. 
• Leave Only Footprints! Remove all furniture and toys from the beach when you’re done for the day, including hammocks, tents, canopies, chairs, toys and sports equipment. 
• If You Dig it, Fill It! Large holes, trenches and moats create dangerous obstacles for hatchling and nesting sea turtles. Avoid digging large holes on the beach and flatten sandcastles and fill in holes at the end of your day. 

This is the first hatch of the season for county nests, but more will follow in the coming weeks. There are 38 nests on county portions of Pensacola Beach and Perdido Key, including a rare leatherback nest. 

If you see a nest hatching or encounter hatchlings turtles on the beach, call Escambia County Marine Resources at (850) 426-1257 or (850) 554-5869. If you encounter a nesting turtle, turn off all lights and retreat a safe distance away. 

If you are a property manager or owner and are interested in how you can make your property more turtle-friendly, please contact Samantha Bolduc at (850) 595-3460 or smbolduc@myescambia.com. For more information about sea turtles in Escambia County, visit www.myescambia.MyEscambia.com/seaturtles or follow the Natural resources Management Department on Facebook at @ECNaturalResourcesManagement. 

All sea turtle work performed by Escambia County was completed under Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission permit #032A.

Hatchling tracks recorded on Pensacola Beach

Hatchling tracks recorded on Pensacola Beach