Sea Turtle Awareness and Protection
Sea turtle nesting season within Indian River Shores is March 1st-September 30th. During these months, beach walkers can make a significant contribution to sea turtle protection and conservation. While enjoying activities on the beach, walkers should remove balloons and plastic bags they observe on the beach before the tide and winds can return these items to the ocean. Balloons and plastic bags can be mistaken for jelly fish by the turtles, which is one of their favorite foods, and it may result in death if the turtles consume these items. Fishing lines, kite string, and any discarded items from boats are potential hazards to sea turtles and should also be collected/properly disposed of. These items can become tangled in a turtle’s flippers which hinders swimming ability to the point of potential drowning. Most importantly, if a resident sees an injured, deceased, or stranded sea turtle on the beach, please call Public Safety at 231-2451 to file a non-emergency report, or call the Florida Wildlife Commission at 1-888-404-3922. During the turtle nesting season, all beach front lighting should be shielded and not visible from the beach. Lighting can disorient hatch-lings, causing them to crawl in the wrong direction, and potentially dehydrate and die. Resident actions are very important to the preservation of these protected creatures.