'Lead to their demise': Flashlights posing major threat to nesting sea turtles

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. - Sea turtle nesting season is in full swing, and researchers are concerned about light use at night.

Numerous towns along Florida’s coast have ordinances in place for homeowners to close their blinds and turn off lights by a certain time, but experts say that isn’t the only issue they’re tracking.

The Sea Turtle Conservancy is seeing a spike in flashlight use across state beaches. It’s a concern because Florida is home to 90% of sea turtle nests across the world.

"People on the beaches with flashlights is also extremely disruptive. You wouldn’t think one flashlight would be, but it can deter nesting females from actually coming onto the beach and nesting themselves," said Rachel Tighe. 

She’s the lighting project manager for the Sea Turtle Conservancy which works closely with advocacy and education groups across the state who survey area beaches. She’s seeing more people using artificial light at night along the coast which can have devastating consequences.

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"Sea turtles can become disoriented or confused from light meaning that when they hatch or emerge from a nest, they can actually go the wrong direction towards land or towards sources of light which can lead to their demise," she added.

Losing sea turtles on the Space Coast can affect the global ecosystem which is why they want people to be extra aware during nesting season which runs through the end of October.

People who call Florida home treasure turtles.

"If you disturb them, shame on you," said Paul who was visiting Cocoa Beach. "Just leave them alone. Stand back and look. You don’t need a flashlight."

"It’s pretty disappointing. I mean, it’s not super surprising because more buildings go up, more technology. As it increases, nature and stuff like that decreases, so it’s super sad because I mean there are so many sea turtles laying eggs here all the time," said Zoe Jovaag who explained that her grandfather used to take her on walks to see sea turtles. 

She adds that it was important to him to protect the beloved animal.

Unfortunately, visitors may not know the impact their evening walks are having on turtles trying to make their way from nests back to the ocean.

"More likely, it’s coming more so from tourists who don’t know anything about this at all," Tighe concluded.

The Sea Turtle Conservancy says education is crucial to shift this trend. If you do want to spend time on the beach when the sun goes down, stay near the water. Turtles nest higher up on shore, so you will be less likely to disturb a nest, but you still need to keep this light off.