The official start to sea turtle nesting season is a little less than a month away, but that’s not stopping organizations like Sea Turtle Trackers from combing the more than 20 miles of Pinellas County beaches shoreline.

Bruno Falkenstein is president of Sea Turtle Trackers and beginning Monday, he and his group of volunteers will be out before sunrise patrolling the beaches on foot, trucks and jet skis looking for sea turtle activity.

Sea turtle nesting season extends from May 1 through Oct. 31 and in that time female turtles come ashore in the dark, dig a hole and lay 100 to 150 eggs at a time. During the course of a season, a single  female lays three to eight nests. After a 45-to-70 day gestation period, hatchlings emerge from the nest at night and follow the moonlight reflecting off the Gulf of Mexico. 

According to the Clearwater Marine Aquarium, here are three things beachgoers can do to help save the sea turtle population.

Turn Lights Out
Turn out unnecessary beach lights to help prevent disorientation of female sea turtles and hatchlings. Close your curtains and be mindful of bright lights shining on the beach. Keep it dark!

Remove Obstacles
Knock down sand castles and fill in sand pits.  This helps to eliminate the challenges the baby hatchlings must cross on their way to the shoreline.  Sand pits can be like the Grand Canyon and sand castles like Mount Everest to tiny baby sea turtles. Clear the way!

Keep the Beach Clean
Picking up trash eliminates items that both hatchlings and adults may become entangled in.  Something as small as a bottle top or as large as unwanted beach furniture can pose potential problems, leading to both false crawls and disorientation.  Keep it clean!

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