Sea Turtle Protection

Sea Turtle Season is March 1 - November 15!

Please turn out all lights facing the beaches and ocean so that we won't be confused and can survive!

It's that time of year again when we mom's must plead our case, not only for ourselves but for our youngsters!

You see, lights from parking lots, homes and boardwalks confuse our senses. We have survived through many adversities dating back to the times of dinosaurs and would like to continue to survive! Our numbers are in danger of worldwide extinction.

You have a wonderful place in St. Lucie County to live and we only hope that you will share the environment on North and South Hutchinson Islands with us as it will play a critical part in helping our numbers to survive.

So, we are asking, that from March 1 to November 15, as we begin our sojourn of beginning new families, that measures be taken to use the directional lighting or diffuse your lights with some type of restrictor. You see, in the "OLD" days all we had to go by was the light of the moon to find a perfect nesting spot for our kids to subsequently find their way to the ocean, and it was just enough!

One way to determine if your lights are confusing us is to take a walk on the beach with your significant other and if you cast a shadow pointing towards the ocean then the lights are too bright.

Thanks for taking the time to read this and you can find additional information in your condominium office to assist us in trying to reach our goal of being taken off the endangered species list someday.

Thanks again!

Ms. Green, Ms. Loggerhead & Ms. Leatherback 

Green Turtle

Listed as endangered/threatened on July 28, 1978.

Green turtles are an endangered species around the world, but they still nest in significant numbers on the east coast of Florida. They are easily distinguished from other sea turtles because of they have a single pair of scales in front of their eyes rather than two pairs as the other sea turtles have. The green turtle is the largest of the Cheloniidae family. The eastern Pacific population of the green turtle is also called the black sea turtle due to its very dark colored shell. Female green turtles that nest in Florida average more than three feet in carapace length, and average about 300 pounds in weight. The largest green turtle ever found was 5 feet in length and 871 pounds. Diets of green turtles changes significantly during its life. When less than 8 to 10 inches in length eat worms, young crustaceans, aquatic insects, grasses and algae. Once green turtles reach 8 to 10 inches in length, they mostly eat sea grass and algae, the only sea turtle that is strictly herbivorous as an adult. Their jaws are finely serrated which aids them in tearing vegetation. Green turtles nest at intervals of 2, 3, or more years. They lay an average of 3 to 5 egg clutches, with about 12 days between each nesting. There are an average of 115 eggs per clutch and they incubate for about 60 days. Nesting season runs from June through October in the U.S.

Loggerhead Turtle

Species listed on the threatened list June 2, 1970

Of all the sea turtles that nest in the United States, the loggerhead, which gets its name from its exceptionally large head, is the one seen most often. While all other species found near the U.S. coastline are listed as endangered, the loggerhead is classified as threatened. This means loggerheads are more numerous than the other species, but they are still in danger of extinction. Adult loggerheads weigh up to 350 pounds and have a reddish-brown carapace (upper shell) and a dull brown to yellow plastron (lower shell). Fully grown, a loggerhead's carapace is typically 32 to 41 inches long. Loggerheads are primarily carnivorous and feed mostly on shellfish that live on the bottom of the ocean. They eat horseshoe crabs, clams, mussels, and other invertebrates. Their powerful jaw muscles help them to easily crush the shellfish. Logger-heads lay eggs at intervals of 2, 3, or more years. Nesting season runs from May through September in the U.S. They lay 4 to 7 nests per season, approx. 14 days apart. The average number of eggs in each clutch ranges from 100 to 126, and the eggs incubate for about 60 days. Loggerhead nesting is concentrated in two main areas of the world -- at Masirah Island, Oman, in the middle east and on the coast of the southeastern United States. The southeast U.S. annual nesting population is about 25,000 each year with the majority of the nesting taking place on Florida's Atlantic coast between the inlet at Cape Canaveral and the Sebastian Inlet.

Leatherback Turtles

Species listed as endangered on June 20, 1970

Leatherbacks are also endangered, but a few nest on the east coast of Florida each year and is the champion of sea turtles. It grows the largest, dives the deepest, and travels the farthest of all sea turtles. Mature leatherbacks typically reach about 4 to 8 feet in length and weigh from 650 to 1,300 pounds. It is the only sea turtle that lacks a hard shell and is named for its large, elongate shell which is composed of a layer of thin, tough, rubbery skin, strengthened by thousands of tiny bone plates. Seven narrow ridges run down the length of the carapace, which is typically black with many white spots. The lower shell is whitish to black and marked by 5 ridges. The body of a leatherback is barrel shaped, tapering at the rear to a blunt point. With this streamlined body shape and the powerful front flippers, it can swim thousands of miles over open ocean and against fast currents. It's delicate, scissor-like jaws would be damaged by anything other than a diet of soft-bodied animals, so they feed almost exclusively on jellyfish. It is remarkable that this large, active animal can survive on a diet of food, which are composed mostly of water and appear to be a poor source of nutrients. Young leatherbacks in captivity can eat twice their weight in jellyfish each day. They approach coastal waters only during breeding seasons from March through July. Leatherbacks nest every 2 to 3 years, laying 6 to 9 egg clutches in a nesting season. Each clutch contains approximately 80 fertilized eggs the size of billiard balls and 30 smaller, unfertilized eggs. There is an average of 10 days between nestings. The eggs incubate for approximately 65 days.

Information obtained from: http://www.cccturtle.org/