Sea Turtle Weekly Update

Only 1 in 1000 sea turtles will become an adult according to sea turtle experts. You hear this so often whenever experts talk about sea turtles. What does it really mean? 

Scientists estimate that 1 in 1,000 hatchlings will survive to adulthood. The odds of an egg surviving to become an adult are even harder—and experts believe that it is closer to 1 in 10,000!  

Sea turtles have many natural predators and can fall victim to many environmental threats—such as the threat posed by Tropical Storm Cristobal last week. According to Yesi Olvera, FWC sea turtle monitor for Marco’s beaches, we had one completely washed out sea turtle nest.  

Yesi also added that we had a lot of nests that were completely flooded due to high tides and the recent tropical storm. Although, we also had some sea turtles that came up to nest even with the rain. 

However, experts believe that the biggest threat is caused by human activities which have led the sea turtle species to be included in the endangered species list. During the summer, many more people will be spending time at our beaches.  

There are many things we can do to make sure that we don’t leave hazards for nesting or hatchling sea turtles. A big threat to Marco’s beach is the trash left in front of the major hotels overnight.  

Litter—it is unlawful for any person to discard or otherwise dispose of or abandon any trash, garbage, bottles, containers, cans, etc. on the beach! 

No Glass on the beach—it is the law! It is unlawful for any person while on the beach or beach access to possess or utilize any glass bottle or container.