Biggest Threats to Sea Turtle Nesting Beaches

by · January 8, 2025

Editor’s Note: The following article was written by STPS member and high school student Shreya Reddy.

Photo by Kelly Carroll.

Biggest Threats to Sea Turtle Nesting Beaches

By Shreya Reddy

There are several threats on many local beaches that prevent sea turtles from nesting and could have an impact on their hatchlings. Some of the biggest threats include:

  • Artificial Lighting
  • Coastal Armoring (e.g., rocks, sandbags, seawalls)
  • Beach Furniture and Beach Toys
  • Beach Driving
  • Beach Raking
  • Holes

Artificial Lighting: Artificial lighting is one of the biggest threats that significantly deter nesting habits for sea turtles on beaches and it can lead them to their deaths. Some examples of artificial lighting include lights from beachfront buildings, lighted roadways and beach bonfires. All these artificial light sources disrupt the nesting habits of sea turtles and lures them off the nesting beaches. Additionally, the brightness and glare of artificial lighting is what is shown to lead hatchlings astray. To a hatchling, the glare of artificial lighting is so conspicuous that it makes them ignore other visual cues and move toward the artificial light whether it is relative to the sea or not.

Coastal Armoring: Coastal armoring structures such as rocks, sandbags and seawalls are created to protect upland property, but they don’t protect sea turtles in any way. Instead, coastal armoring degrades marine turtle nesting habitats for sea turtles because it prevents them from accessing dry sand.  Specifically, coastal armoring structures block sea turtles’ access to suitable nesting habitats, which results in decreased nesting emergences. Several cases of interactions with coastal armoring structures have resulted in the deaths of nesting females and hatchlings. In Florida and South Carolina, approximately 20-25% of nesting beaches are armored.

Beach Furniture and Beach Toys: Beach furniture and recreation equipment can cause many problems if they remain on the beach after being used. Umbrellas, chairs, picnic tables, boats, and other large items are known to present significant obstructions to nesting sea turtles. Each piece might seem to be a small barrier, but on many beaches, furniture can span long stretches of shoreline, which completely blocks the access by sea turtles.

Beach Driving: Some sea turtle nesting beaches are used as roadways and for beach-access parking. Nesting sea turtles and their hatchlings are occasionally run over by vehicles operating at night and become disorientated by the headlights (artificial lights). Vehicles driving on the beach leave shore-parallel ruts in the sand, which are an impediment to hatchlings attempting to reach the sea. The hatchlings can climb out of the footprints equal in depth to the ruts, but once in a rut, hatchlings choose to crawl along it rather than over its edge. This happens due to a hatchling’s penchant for orientation towards open horizons, which in a rut are in either direction along its length.

Beach Raking: The practice of beach raking (also known as beach grooming or beach cleaning) mechanically flattens the beach, uproots sprouting dune plants, and removes the wrack, which is any drift material from the sea. In addition to diminishing the beach-building attributes supplied by the wrack, beach raking can obliterate signs of sea turtle crawls used by conservation workers to count and protect nests. Although mechanical beach cleaning permits have provisions for sea turtle nests, hatchlings can still be in grave danger, as they often take cover in beach wrack which is often raked away.

Holes: When visiting the beach, many people enjoy digging holes in it. Also, this digging instills joy to kids and therapy to adults. Most of this activity doesn’t create a hazard for sea turtles, especially if the holes are filled in when it’s time to leave. But some larger holes don’t get filled in. These larger pits can entrap both adult females and hatchlings. Additionally, some nesting turtles that have plunged into pits have died as a result of injury or suffocation.

What Can We Do to Lessen These Threats? Are There Any Solutions?

Thankfully, there are solutions to all these threats that most likely won’t eradicate the threats but will definitely make them less of a larger issue!

Artificial Lighting: One thing we can do is reduce the lights on beachfront properties. Any reduction in the amount of artificial light reaching the nesting beach helps sea turtles. As lighting is reduced, hatchlings emerging on moonlit nights and at locations far from the lighted property will have a better chance of finding the sea.

Coastal Armoring: Currently, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute (FWRI) does research projects assessing the extent of coastal armoring structures on sea turtle nesting beaches and the effects of these structures on sea turtle nesting behavior. Along with this research are efforts to inform the public about this important sea turtle conservation problem in Florida.

Beach Furniture and Beach Toys: This issue can mainly be reduced by the public. In other words, people must pick up all of their furniture, toys, and other belongings and ensure that nothing that they own is left on the beach.

Beach Driving: Restricting driving to daytime hours can reduce this issue as a threat. However, there is a better solution. Certain regulations need to take place such as requiring licenses or passes, limiting the number of vehicles on the beach, enforcing speed limits, limiting beach driving to certain vehicles (like 4-wheel drive), and prohibiting driving on ecologically sensitive areas and during sea turtle nesting season.

Beach Raking: Beach raking on sea turtle nesting beaches is regulated by states and is most common on urban and resort beaches. Beach-cleaning regulations typically prohibit raking at night, landward of the high tide, and before nesting surveys have been conducted. Raking only the topmost layer of sand and the use of low-pressure tires can reduce some effects on nests and hatchlings.

Holes: One thing people can do before they leave the beach is fill in any holes that they made so that they are not a threat to sea turtles.

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Read these additional STPS blog articles to learn more about making beaches safe for nesting sea turtles and their hatchlings.

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