By now everyone should be aware that Hurricane Dorian is projected to have impacts on Florida over the coming Labor Day weekend and into the following week.
- Be safe! Do not be on the beach during the storm or if there is extreme wave action. Please comply with all mandatory beach closures.
- Storms have an impact on sea turtles, but did you know each nesting female turtle deposits several nests throughout the duration of the nesting season – essentially “hedging her bets” to make sure that even if a storm hits at some point during the nesting season eggs will probably hatch? This means there is a high probability that at least a few of her nests will incubate successfully without being impacted by a storm. No storm season is a total loss for sea turtles. Even in years when Florida sustained direct hits from multiple storms, hatching and emergence success rates were still well within the normal range.
- To the public and STPS volunteers, we do not encourage you to salvage eggs, dig up nests, or search the wrack line for hatchlings/posthatchlings. Please do not touch eggs, nests, or hatchlings. If you see something that is an issue, please contact us.
Yes, we want to help the turtles, but we need to help turtles through other mechanisms that will actually affect a change and contribute to the preservation and protection of the populations: skip the straw, reduce single use plastic, and educate others!
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