Disco lights lure baby turtles to their death
- Thread starter Kat
- Start date
Please register or login
Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.
Benefits of registering include
- Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
- A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
- You can make this box go away
hello Kat,
This is a problem world-wide. In Florida many thousands of hatchling sea turtles are crushed every fall on shorefront highways, because the lights inland are brighter than the sea's nighttime glow. Turtles evolved over millions of years in a world where the sea was by far the brightest object on the dark nights when turtles hatch. Their evolutionary adaptation was to head for the brightest point on the horizon after digging themselves out of the nest. For 99.99%+ of sea turtle existence, that was always the direction of the open sea. Over the past few decades, in less than a century, the expansion of human habitat and the development of electric lights have conspired to reverse that ancient reality, luring the hatchling sea turtles inland to certain death.
Some communities in Florida have "blackouts" during turtle hatching season for that reason. Fences have been tried, but the hatchlings tend to pile up against them, until the heat of the daylight sun and predators eliminate them.
The only real solution is to limit human reproduction in the same way the Chinese have done, and also strictly limit the development of coastlines, for the benefit of all the beings we share this planet with.
This is a problem world-wide. In Florida many thousands of hatchling sea turtles are crushed every fall on shorefront highways, because the lights inland are brighter than the sea's nighttime glow. Turtles evolved over millions of years in a world where the sea was by far the brightest object on the dark nights when turtles hatch. Their evolutionary adaptation was to head for the brightest point on the horizon after digging themselves out of the nest. For 99.99%+ of sea turtle existence, that was always the direction of the open sea. Over the past few decades, in less than a century, the expansion of human habitat and the development of electric lights have conspired to reverse that ancient reality, luring the hatchling sea turtles inland to certain death.
Some communities in Florida have "blackouts" during turtle hatching season for that reason. Fences have been tried, but the hatchlings tend to pile up against them, until the heat of the daylight sun and predators eliminate them.
The only real solution is to limit human reproduction in the same way the Chinese have done, and also strictly limit the development of coastlines, for the benefit of all the beings we share this planet with.
Ive just come back from the island in question (Zakynthos) and as well as the diving got familiar from my last 2 trips with the turtles.
Beaches designated as turtle beaches are not allowed ANY development behind them to avoid distraction so its just scrub and trees. The beaches are guarded 24 hours a day and the sunbeds are not allowed more than approx 6m from the water amongst other rules.
This means the buried nests dont get crushed.
http://www.nmp-zak.org/ <-- Zakynthos marine park url.
Beaches designated as turtle beaches are not allowed ANY development behind them to avoid distraction so its just scrub and trees. The beaches are guarded 24 hours a day and the sunbeds are not allowed more than approx 6m from the water amongst other rules.
This means the buried nests dont get crushed.
http://www.nmp-zak.org/ <-- Zakynthos marine park url.
