It’s a date our volunteers have been waiting for….it’s been 2 months since the first nest of the season was laid on PCB and that means we should be entering our hatching season any night now!
Here on Panama City Beach, we have a high level of hatchling disorientation with hatchlings going towards artificial lighting instead of the shimmering Gulf of Mexico. Our volunteers received training from FWC and our local program to aid or rescue hatchlings if they are disoriented. No one other than permitted volunteers can handle hatchlings but there are ways that anyone along our 18 miles of beach can help protect hatchlings. Please help us reduce artificial lighting on the beach, especially if you have noticed a marked nest in the area. Clean, dark and flat is the best environment for hatchlings.
Clean: Leave No Trace, remove all of your belongings and trash from the beach each night
Dark: Keep exterior beach visible lights off and blinds/curtains drawn to reduce interior light visibility, reduce flashlight usage and use red LED flashlights if needed
Flat: Fill in holes and knock down sand castles (this prevents sea turtles from wasting energy struggling as the cross the sand)
Please refrain from touching any hatchlings and do not disturb their nest area. We know that we have many visitors on the beach so we have various signs, as shown in these photos, to try to share these messages so we can all do our part to help protect the sea turtles on our beaches.
We don’t announce nest locations or predicted hatch dates. What we will announce is an excavation which will take place 3-4 days after a hatch (we don’t know any further in advance than that). Where possible, we’ll invite the public to attend the excavation and we’ll also attempt to go live on Facebook for those unable to attend in person.
Thank you in advance to our hatching volunteers for the many hours they are about to spend between now and late October helping to protect the hatchlings on PCB!
