Sunday, November 15, 2026
Loggerhead hatchlings head out to sea after emerging from their nest. They leave a trail of tiny tracks on the fresh morning sand as they head to open water. Sea turtle monitors look for these tracks in the morning.
Loggerhead hatchlings emerge from the nest roughly two months after being laid.
It is that time of the year when sea turtle hatchlings emerge from their nests, roughly two months after the mother Loggerhead Sea Turtle lays her eggs on our beaches. Hatchlings squirm to the surface and begin a very treacherous journey to open water.
Hatchlings use their instincts to follow the reflection of the moon and stars on the surface of the water to find their home in the Gulf of Mexico. According to FWC, a disorientation occurs when hatchlings are distracted by artificial lights and head away from the waterline, which can lead to death by predation or dehydration.
On July 20th, Marco Island had a severe case of hatchling disorientation most likely due to artificial light coming from nearby beachfront condos and hotels. Hatchling tracks never made it to the water but made a dash towards the dunes and artificial lights.
According to Tyler Beck, a sea turtle monitor, the nest hatched out by the Hilton/Crystal Shores and tracks showed the hatchlings went as far north as the Surf Club and not a single track from the nest went towards the water. Beck, along with early morning beach vendor volunteers, were able to rescue 15 live hatchlings from the dune area and later released the hatchlings to the Gulf that evening after sunset.
On Saturday, July 23rd, the nest was excavated (sea turtle monitors have to wait three days between the emergence day and excavation) and sea turtle monitor, Yesenia Olvera, counted a total of 77 sea turtle eggs and recorded 68 hatched. With 15 hatchlings rescued from the dunes, it is easy to assume that the rest of the hatchlings got lost in the vegetation and never made it to open waters.
Though the data is not exact on a hatchling’s chances, it is commonly believed among sea turtle experts that only one out of every thousand hatchlings survive to maturity. Since a mature adult female can lay approximately 100 eggs at a time, that would mean, at best, one hatchling out of every ten nests might make it to adulthood. Some scientists even estimate that it could be as few as one in 10,000 that actually survives.
Here are some questions raised and I reached out to Marco Police Chief Tracy Frazzano for answers:
Q: Are we enforcing the Sea Turtle Light Ordinance?
A: Yes.
Q: To date since May, how many Notice of Violations have been issued relating to the Sea Turtle Lighting Ordinance?
A: 18.
Q: Any repeat offenders from last year? What can they expect in terms of fines?
A: Last year we issued to the building. This year, we are issuing to individual apartments, so we can’t compare any data.
Q: How many officers are assigned to Sea Turtle Patrol?
A: All the Community Service Officers are trained in the Sea Turtle Ordinance and work it accordingly.
Q: Biggest challenge encountered with light violations from beach facing condos?
A: Consistently getting the message out because the buildings get a lot of visitors/rental.
Q: From the latest hatchling disorientation early this week, only 15 hatchlings were recovered out of 100+ hatched eggs. Did we ever determine which condo/hotel lights were visible from the beach?
A: Currently under investigation.
Q: Did we do additional outreach to the offending buildings to make sure it does not happen again?
A: We do outreach to all the buildings.
Q: How are we spreading the word out about compliance to the Sea Turtle Lighting Ordinance?
A: It is in our monthly report and we do social media posts as well as meetings with the building.
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