Large Holes On the Beach Are a Safety Hazard for All!

Feeling like a kid again, we head out to the beach and build sandcastles of alligators, dolphins and sea turtles but the ultimate sand experience is not complete without digging a hole all the way to China! As kids, that’s where our imagination took us.

But seriously, there is a dangerous side to digging a deep hole and leaving it unfilled overnight. 

It can cause serious harm for both humans, wildlife and to emergency and rescue vehicles.

Regular beach walkers have noticed more and more deep holes dug on the beach and left overnight. Some pits are as deep as three to four feet deep. And it is not just kids anymore – these deep craters or pits are being dug by shovels (not the kiddie type shovels) and by young and strong adults. I don’t think they realize how much of a hazard these unfilled pits are. Even a fairly shallow hole can cause an unsuspecting beach walker or runner to sprain an ankle or break a bone.

There are no lifeguards on our beaches to monitor and inform diggers to fill the holes at the end of their visit. It is not illegal to dig a crater and leave it overnight. There are no rules as to how deep is the recommended “safe” hole as there is no such thing. It is so easy to leave those holes unattended posing hazards to other visitors.

How about its implications to sea turtles who are nesting on Florida’s beaches from May 1 through October 31st? Imagine a female loggerhead turtle weighing 200-300 pounds coming ashore to lay its eggs on our Marco Beach. It is dark and she feels comfortable moving forward, one heavy step at a time and then KA-BOOM – in the hole she tumbles!

She falls on her back and is trapped until the morning when a forklift can get her out of that pit safely! The fall could possibly hurt her and crack her shell or break a flipper. Surely, this will present quite a challenge to the rescue team.

How about a human-related scenario? You are an early beach walker with your earphones on and all of a sudden you find yourself falling into a deep sand pit. You will be a very lucky person if you’ll come out of that fall without a break.

If this happens at night would someone hear your cries for help? Please, please, let’s remind every visitor to our beach to have fun but play it safe and at the end of the day, fill in the holes you dug, no matter how shallow.  

Beach Activity April Report to City Council

April beach activity was similar to March’s for the number of events and hours of service. Officers spent 295 hours patrolling the beaches in April versus 309 hours in March. The number of incidents requiring officer intervention included: debris pick-up/ litter, an increase this month in comparison to last by 25%; glass on beach, a significant increase this month versus last (almost twice as many) and holes on the beach requiring fill-in, up 150% for April in comparison March. Beach Patrol Officers filled in 42 holes on the beach in April.