Miami Beach’s Sea Turtles Threatened by Its People

Carmen Gentile, The New York Times 9 Sep 09;

MIAMI BEACH — Under the cloak of nightfall, dozens of freshly hatched sea turtles beat tiny flippers against the wet sands of Miami Beach, inching their way toward the ocean and a life aquatic.

It is the first of many challenges these turtles will face in a lifetime that can exceed that of the average human.

Those female sea turtles that make it to maturity return every summer and fall to lay eggs of their own, in dozens of nests that each typically contain more than 50 eggs.

But the sea turtles’ way of life here is under increasing threat because they must share their breeding ground with throngs of beachgoers.

Conservationists do their best to protect turtle nests by roping them off and posting signs warning that it is a felony to disturb the eggs of these creatures threatened with extinction, but it is sometimes not enough. Egg poachers and vandals have destroyed a number of nests in recent years along Miami Beach, the authorities say.

In addition, dozens of mature turtles are killed every breeding season, even before reaching the shore, by boat propellers or those hoping to make a profit from the illegal sale of turtle meat.

“These sea turtles are under constant threat,” said Bill Ahern, a conservation specialist for Miami-Dade County Parks since 1987.

Sea turtle advocates have been pressing the local authorities for help. Last year, Miami Beach passed a law limiting the amount of light that can shine on the beaches at night. Hatchlings navigate their way to the ocean by the moon and stars and can become confused by too much artificial light.

Neighboring seaside communities that also play host to sea turtles are considering similar laws.

Sea turtles found alive after a boating accident or human attack are taken to the Miami Seaquarium, where they are treated by Dr. Maya Rodriguez, a sea turtle specialist who currently has about 25 injured sea turtles in her care.

Their maladies range from a clipped flipper to a cracked shell or worse. “We’ve had some come in here with their insides completely exposed and saved them,” Dr. Rodriguez said.

But for the sea turtles’ advocates, protection starting at birth is the key to their future survival.

Mr. Ahern tries to fend off would-be poachers and others who might harm turtle nests by driving up and down the beach at dawn during breeding season to search for signs of freshly laid eggs, like large flipper marks and mounds of loose sand where a mother covered her nest. Some eggs are taken from their nest to a hatchery where they can mature and be released into the ocean.

Other times, conservationists leave the eggs where they are, rope off the nest and place signs alerting sunbathers to their presence. So far this year, the warnings have been enough to keep poachers at bay.

Along one stretch of sand, the sea turtles have a little extra protection. Cliff Buchanan, who calls himself the Turtle Dude of Miami Beach, spends his nights during breeding season camped out next to nests with eggs ready to hatch.

A freelance photographer, Mr. Buchanan voluntarily protects the nests from what he says is the constant threat of drunken nighttime visitors who pour out of nearby nightclubs to go for a midnight swim or make-out session in the sand.

“I’ve seen drunks pulling up stakes roping off nests and kick the sand inside,” Mr. Buchanan said on one of his recent nighttime vigils. “I don’t carry a gun, but sometimes I wish I did.”