May is Sea Turtle Nesting season!

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MAY 2021

2021 Sea Turtle Nest Counts

• Loggerhead (Caretta caretta):

Apollo ( 4 ) .......... Playalinda ( 1 )

• Green Turtle (Chelonia mydas):

Apollo ( 0 ) .......... Playalinda ( 0 )

• Leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea):

Apollo ( 1 ) .......... Playalinda ( 7 )

• Kemps Ridley (Lepidochelys kempii):

Apollo ( 0 ) .......... Playalinda ( 0 )

Total Sea Turtle Nest Counts: 13

Total Wilson Plover Shorebird Beach Nest Counts:

Playalinda = 4
Apollo = 10

Dear Friends,

Here we are at the beginning of another Sea Turtle and Shorebird nesting season! Things are a-popping at Canaveral, on the beach, and in the sky. We have leatherbacks and loggerheads and Wilson’s Plovers on the beach and rockets in the sky.

We plan on presenting a limited Turtle Watch program this summer, keeping in mind our CDC/Covid protocols to keep staff and visitors safe. We will start taking reservations on May 15^th at 9:00 am by phone at (386)428-3384. The programs will only be in the Playalinda (south)district this summer.

We are also happy to see the Friends going into their second year of the Adopt a Sea Turtle Nest program; this is a fun way to stay in touch with what is happening on the beach and get some unique gifts with your donation.

Thanks to the Friends of Canaveral for our new beautiful donation box for the Apollo Visitor Center; come out and put your money where your favorite turtle lives. And as always….

See you at the beach!

Laura Henning

PEOPLE, PARKS & FIRE

By Avia Woulard

Fire is a force of nature that has shaped the vegetation and ecosystem of our national parks. Fire is also a cultural tool used by people for heating, cooking, clearing land for crops, and hunting. Whether started by lightning or by humans, fire plays a vital role in saving our national parks; enabling the achievement of critical objectives such as maintaining and improving hazardous amounts of vegetation.

Here at Canaveral National Seashore, we perform control burns to help endangered species such as the Eastern Indigo Snake, Florida Scrub Jay, Gopher Tortoise, and Southeastern Beach Mouse. They all depend on fires to create post-fire conditions and enabling them to flourish.

DONATIONAL BOX PROJECT

At Canaveral National Seashore Visitor's Center

DID YOU KNOW?

Why Are Sea Turtles Important?

Healthy oceans need sea turtles. Sea turtles are a "keystone species", which means they are an important part of their environment and influence other species around them. If a keystone species is removed from a habitat, the natural order can be disrupted, which impacts other wildlife and fauna in different ways.

Why Are Sea Turtles Important - SEE Turtles - SEE Turtles

Different species of sea turtles feed on different things, though most of them like jellyfish. Leatherback sea turtles specialize in eating jellyfish which keeps jellyfish populations in check. If leatherbacks were to disappear, jellyfish...

Read more
www.seeturtles.org

ADOPT A SEA TURTLE NEST is an opportunity for visitors, friends, and nature lovers to participate in and contribute to sea turtle conservation. Your donation of $40 supports the protection efforts of these threatened and endangered species.

SEA TURTLE NESTS will be available for adoption beginning June 1. All adoptable sea turtle nests will be located within the 24 miles of undeveloped coastline within the boundaries of the Canaveral National Shore.

MAIL-IN FORM: Fill out the form and return it with our $40 donation to Friends of Canaveral, PO Box 1526, New Smyrna Beach, FL 32170 (Payable to Friends of Canaveral, Inc.

ONLINE: Fill out the online form and submit it with your $40 donation per credit card.

ONCE WE RECEIVE YOUR ADOPT A SEA TURTLE NEST INFO you will be:

Assigned a sea turtle nest with an ID number.
Receive a digital photo of your nest ID stake with your selected name, photo, and information regarding species.
Receive a custom-designed sea life print buff, a Friends of Canaveral sticker, and a sea turtle ID postcard.

THREATS TO SEA TURTLES

Beach furniture can be an obstacle to nesting sea turtles and may cause them to false crawl — emerge and depart without leaving a nest. Furniture can also pose a hazard: Turtles can become entangled and carry furniture back into the water.

Artificial lighting on marine turtle nesting beaches disrupts the ability of hatchlings to find the sea from their nest, an effect termed "hatchling disorientation."

Walking on dunes can destroy the plants that hold them together. Without these plants, the wind would erode the sand off the dune, diminishing its effectiveness as a natural barrier. This is why it is so important to stay off the dunes and always use designated dune walkways.

Disturbing sea turtle nests. Beachgoers are often unaware that walking above the high tide line or driving on the beach can crush nests and kill nestlings. Visitors pitching beach umbrellas in the sand to create shade on a sunny day may unknowingly penetrate turtle nests

Fireworks...Not only is it illegal, but, it can also hurt sea creatures. It blows the pieces apart so it’s very difficult to pick up … sea life ingests those pieces. We're right in the middle of sea turtle-nesting season, which goes from May to September. The loud bang and the lights really deter sea turtles from nesting at night. And with large crowds, unfortunately comes large amounts of trash.

The Importance of Filling in Holes

Many people don’t realize the dangers that large holes left in the sand pose to sea turtles as well as humans. Sea turtles are clumsy and ungainly on land, which is why they only leave the water to make their nest. They do not have the capability to back up, nor the strength to climb out of holes without help. If they fall into one head first, they quite often die. Baby sea turtles headed to the water have the same issue, and once they fall in a hole and can’t get out, they are easy prey for birds and animals that find them to be a delicacy.

When constructed on nesting beaches, coastal armoring structures block turtles' access to suitable nesting habitat, resulting in decreased nesting emergences. Additionally, several cases have been documented of interactions with coastal armoring structures that have resulted in the deaths of nesting females and hatchlings.

Entanglement in plastic bags, fishing line or other trash also leads to infection, limb amputation, starvation and death.

Think about preventing this problem when you purchase supplies.
Carry trash receptacles on your vessel. You can make your own with easy DIY plans.
Pick up debris that you see on the water or shoreline.
Find clean-up events on the agency calendar.
Use Monofilament Line Recycling Containers at boat ramps around the state.

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REPORT VIOLATIONS

If you suspect a fish, wildlife, boating, or environmental law violation, report it to the FWC's Wildlife Alert Reward Program: 888-404-FWCC (3922).

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