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Sea turtle nesting season starts in Tampa Bay

With beaches opening back up, there are a few things you can do to help those baby sea turtles out.

PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — It’s sea turtle nesting season in Tampa Bay, and in some areas, more nests are being reported than normal.

Clearwater Marine Aquarium’s Supervisor of Sea Turtle Conservation, Lindsey Flynn, says being able to help keep the sea turtles safe makes all her hard work worth it.

"It’s one of the most rewarding parts of our jobs, in my opinion, to have a hand indirectly contributing to the conservation of those baby sea turtles," she said.

Flynn says the nesting season started May 1 for Pinellas County, but her team has been searching for the nests since April 15.

"If we determine there is a clutch of eggs there, we’re responsible for marking it off, because come Monday, we’ll have a lot of people on our beaches again, so we want to make sure those nests are clearly marked off so they don’t walk into it or disturb it in some way," she said.

They haven’t found any nests in Pinellas County yet, but Mote Marine Lab says in April they found more than ever before, from Longboat Key all the way down to Caspersen Beach in Venice.

"They had 21 nests in April, which is more than they’ve ever had in April in the past, so we’re off to a good start," Melissa Bernhard, Conservation Manager & Senior Biologist with the Sea Turtle Conservation & Research Program said.

Mote representatives say they can’t say if the record-breaking month is or isn’t because of beach closures, and say they’ve had turtles arriving early the past several years there.

And at Juno Beach, researchers with the Loggerhead Marine Life Center found significantly more nests than usual too.

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With beaches opening back up, there are a few things you can do to help those baby sea turtles out. If you see a turtle or a nest, don’t touch the nest or the turtles. Instead, you can call FWC and let them know where you found it. Also, clean up after yourself when you leave the beach. 

If you live near the beach, CMA says you should switch your outdoor lighting to “sea turtle-friendly” lights. Bright, white lights can confuse sea turtles, who mistake them for the moon reflecting off the ocean. Sometimes, those lights make the turtles accidentally head inland instead of out to the ocean.

"That’s lights that are above 500 nanometers in wavelength, in the amber and red spectrum, Flynn explained, saying those are less confusing to sea turtles.

You can find more about sea turtle-friendly lights here: https://www.seewinter.com/conservation/sea-turtle-nesting/ 

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