Marco’s “Turtally” Awesome Sea Turtle Monitors

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Sea Turtle Activity Update August 8 (1).docx.pdf

During turtle nesting season (May 1st – October 31st), Collier County is responsible for surveying 22.5 miles of beach for sea turtle activities through its Sea Turtle Protection Program, which aims to protect nests and collect data on sea turtle nesting and hatching activities. 

The City of Marco Island is a coastal barrier island encompassing 7.1 miles of beach from inside Big Marco Pass (Hideaway Beach) south to Caxambas Pass. Collier County shows that Marco’s Beach has been monitored for sea turtle activities since 1990. 

If you are on the beach very early in the morning during sea turtle season, you will see the Sea Turtle Patrol riding their All-Terrain Vehicles (ATVs) seven days a week. Let’s meet the team! 

Suzanne Townsend, or Suzie for short, is a Naples native and a senior at the University of South Florida with a professional interest in science journalism.

Maddie Bernstein is a recent graduate from Florida Gulf Coast University with a degree in Marine Science and a minor in Climate Change. She wanted to work with Sea Turtles to expand her skills in the marine science field and was inspired by a sea turtle biology class she took in her last year as an undergraduate.  

Jessica Falco has been working on the sea turtle nesting program with Collier County since 2020. Coming from Barefoot Beach, Jessica is very excited to be a part of the Marco Island team. She has a degree in biology and a passion for education and conservation. 

Mary Nelson, Marco’s beloved Sea Turtle Lady, was recently seen helping the team during the busy month of May. Jenna Flickinger was also part of the team briefly but has recently joined the Rookery Bay Sea Turtle Program. 

Tyler Beck has been working with Sea Turtles on Marco for almost eight years. He is also a PADI & SDU Scuba Instructor. You will find him in the morning on Marco’s beach protecting the sea turtles.

So what is the morning routine for the Sea Turtle Monitors? While riding their ATV each morning, they check the beach for sea turtle emergence resulting in a nest deposit or false crawl. They take a GPS reading for each location. Nests are numbered sequentially, mapped and data and characteristics are recorded. They mark all nests with four wooden stakes placed in all four corners of the nesting area. Yellow ribbon with the word “caution” is then placed around the stakes with a Sea Turtle Nest Sign affixed to alert and direct the public away from the nest. Each stake is also marked with its directions (SW, NW, SE, NE) to facilitate clutch location if stakes were lost during a storm.

Each morning monitors also observe for signs of hatching or hatchling tracks for disorientation. They will excavate the nest three days following signs of hatchings. During excavation, monitors will remove all eggs from the nest cavity and measure and record the depth and width of the nest. Empty eggshells are recorded for live hatchlings that escaped from the nest/or dead turtles found within the nest. Unhatched eggs, including undeveloped eggs, are examined and recorded to determine the stage of development.

If live hatchlings are found within the nest, they are either released immediately or transferred to a bucket of moist sand for night release. It’s a long list, and often monitors add new observations. They also work with local code enforcement during events of hatchling disorientations and stranding.

Sea turtles have roamed the ocean for over 110 million years, but did you also know that the greatest threats to them are from humans? As a result, experts estimate that for every 1,000 hatchlings that are born, only one will survive to reach maturity and be able to reproduce.

The next time you are on the beach, give the monitors a thumbs-up! The “turtally” awesome Sea Turtle Patrol Team is protecting the sea turtles one hatchling at a time.