Sea turtle disorientation issues persist on Longboat and Lido keys

As sea turtle nesting season enters the hatching phase, sea turtle hatchlings are popping up all over the state. For Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium’s territory from Longboat Key to Venice, disorientations remain a problem. 

Disorientations have already been reported on Longboat Key for the 2024 sea turtle season, and final disorientation counts from the 2023 season show the issues have not improved much from 2022. 

“Last year was a pretty disorientation-heavy year,” Senior Biologist & Conservation Manager Melissa Macksey said. 

In 2022, there were a total of 1,294 sea turtle nests on Longboat Key, according to data from Mote. Of those, 262 nests were disoriented, which caused a disorientation rate of about 20.2%. 

According to Macksey, the more accurate way to represent disorientations is by only looking at the hatched nests. When looking at the number of nests disoriented out of the total number of nests, that total number of nests includes nests that didn’t hatch, which could have been due to a variety of factors like predation or storms.

A subset of 240 hatched nests in 2022 had 68 disorientations, which means a disorientation rate of 28.3%.

Last season, six adult sea turtles were disoriented on Longboat Key, and 217 hatched nests were disoriented. About 26% of the hatched nests were disoriented. 

On the disorientation reports, beach patrollers who discover a disorientation indicate the severity of the disorientation by estimating the number of hatchlings affected. This is done by checking a box next to a few different ranges of hatchlings (2-10, 11-50 or more than 50).

After compiling that data, Mote estimated that at least 4,385 hatchlings were disoriented on Longboat Key last season. 

“It very well could be more than that,” Macksey said, explaining that the ranges are the patroller’s best guess, and when compiling the data, the Mote staff use the smallest number in the range. 

Lido Key also continues to be a hot spot for disorientations. Last year, 45.5% of the hatched nests on Lido Key became disoriented. There were 10 adult disorientations and 61 hatched nest disorientations, which totaled at least 1,862 impacted hatchlings. 

Though Lido Key’s percentage is higher, that’s partly because there are fewer nests on Lido Key. For example, there were 978 loggerhead and 12 green turtle nests on Longboat Key last year, whereas Lido Key had 184 loggerhead nests and no green turtle nests. 

Disorientation investigation 

Small tracks about the width of bicycle tires are the first indication that hatchlings emerged from a nest. When those tracks don’t lead directly to the water, sea turtle patrollers start to investigate the disorientation. 

The best-case scenario is when the hatchlings circle around and then eventually find their way to the water. But if that isn’t the case, patrollers will follow the tracks to find the baby turtles.

In a worst-case scenario, hatchling turtles don’t survive the disorientation. Sometimes the hatchlings could walk toward roads or parking lots, causing them to be run over by vehicles or dry out in the morning sun. The hatchlings can also be easy meals for predators. 

Macksey said the tracks are followed as best as possible, which sometimes is tricky when human foot traffic or rain disrupt the tracks. Patrollers often follow tracks up to the vegetation, sometimes leading to patios or pools. 

“We’ll try to go up there and see if they’re swimming in the pool or the hot tub, which is a pretty frequent spot for us to find them,” Macksey said. 

Disoriented hatchlings can end up in all sorts of places. Macksey said the other day there were hatchlings found trapped in a storm drain. 

“There’s a whole lot of peril they can get themselves into,” Macksey said. “Even if we find them alive and not crushed by a car, swimming in a pool, etc., they get exhausted … so all not good things. We’d much rather they hatch and go straight to the water and start on their natural journey as soon as possible.” 

Photo by Olivia Raney

When Mote staff can locate disoriented hatchlings that are still alive, there’s a chance to save them and help them on their journey. 

Sometimes, that means a check-up at Mote. 

“If they seem particularly exhausted, we typically hold them,” Macksey said. “If they have gotten themselves into trouble, we have a hatchling hospital at Mote that we bring them to, and they will do a full-blown assessment.” 

When sea turtles hatch, they have what’s called a swim frenzy. This is when the hatchlings use all of their energy to find the ocean and swim out to the sargassum belt in the ocean, which provides safety and necessary nutrition. 

If the hatchlings use up that swim frenzy and end up in a swimming pool, they are typically taken back to the hatchling hospital to regain some strength. Then, Macksey said the hospital would coordinate boat trips out to the sargassum line and drop the hatchlings off where they need to be. 

Lighting issues remain

Sea turtle disorientations are often caused by artificial lighting. Adult and hatchling turtles rely on the natural moonlight to find the ocean again. The nesting mothers or young turtles can become confused by inland artificial lighting and veer off course. 

On Longboat Key, a town ordinance helps to alleviate these issues. At the start of turtle nesting season on May 1, Longboat Key properties must use turtle-friendly bulbs and fixtures, or turn off lights at night. 

Alternatively, things like blinds, shutters or tinted glass can be used to dim the artificial light. 

“We do want people to turn off their lights in their unit and close their blinds in their one unit,” Macksey said. 

But sometimes the issue could be with shared spaces in condominium complexes, like pool and patio lighting. Macksey said she encourages people who may see those issues to reach out to their condo management to find solutions, whether that’s turning off the lights or utilizing shading. 

Earlier this nesting season, Vice President of Longboat Key Turtle Watch Cyndi Seamon spoke to town commissioners about lighting issues that she and others noticed on the beaches at night, including some public streetlights. 

Since then, the town investigated some of the issues and the Florida Department of Transportation shut off all the crosswalk lighting while the department looked into possible shielding methods. 

Another cause of disorientations can be sky glow which, for Longboat Key nests, often comes from the direction of Lido Key. 

“Sky glow is when general light pollution makes the sky brighter,” Macksey said. “There’s not necessarily a pinpoint of, you know, this condo had a light on and that’s what’s causing a brightness in this area.” 

Streetlights, buildings and landscape lighting can all contribute to sky glow, according to Macksey. Generally, more populated areas — like downtown Sarasota — can have a brighter sky glow. Plus, more cloud cover can increase the brightness when the lights are reflected in the clouds. 

The sky glow issue cannot be solved as easily as flipping a switch. 

“It’s a much bigger issue and involves a whole lot more things,’ Macksey said.