New License Plate to Help Sanibel Sea Turtles

With only 1 out of 1000 sea turtle hatchlings surviving, the protection and proliferation of these beautiful little babies is always on our minds.

When you sit on the beaches in Sanibel, you can see areas designated as sea turtle nests and marked off so that they are not disturbed.

You can also see the vehicles on our beautiful beaches naming them as Sea Turtle Research jeeps.

Now, the Island has even more incentives as well as opportunities to advocate for some of our most treasured and smallest creatures.

The 2015 sea turtle nesting season is underway. Over the next several months, hatchling sea turtles will emerge from their nests and head to the Gulf of Mexico.

In addition to the usual rules and regulations offered to help visitors and residents alike understand the importance of protecting, some new measures have been added. 

This year, The City of Sanibel received a $6000 grant from the Sea Turtle Conservancy’s Sea Turtle License Plate Grant Program, the City has initiated a new educational campaign, “After 9, it’s turtle time!”, to remind residents and visitors to close curtains and blinds and turn off lights after dark. The Sea Turtle Specialty License Plate is the primary source of funding for Florida’s Marine Turtle Protection Program. It also supports the Sea Turtle Grants Program, which has awarded more than $2.7 million in grants for research, education and conservation programs since 2001 to benefit sea turtles in Florida.

Grant funds were used to create and produce light switch stickers, static-cling window decals, and elevator wraps (posters). These special materials are currently being distributed free of charge to beachfront resorts, property owners and managers, and rental agencies for placement in beachfront units. Although most summertime visitors to Sanibel receive some information regarding sea turtles at “check-in”, the goal of this program is to provide additional reminders at key locations—light switches, windows and sliding glass doors, and elevators—that helping sea turtles can be as easy as flipping a switch.

The City believes that this campaign, in coordination with longstanding efforts to enforce exterior beachfront lighting regulations, will reduce the number of disorientation events occurring on Sanibel’s beaches. Disorientation from a variety of artificial lighting sources causes thousands of hatchling deaths each year in Florida and is a significant sea turtle conservation problem. In most cases, however, implementing solutions is relatively simple.

CLOSE CURTAINS AND BLINDS or TURN OFF LIGHTS
after dark (Yes, even if the windows/sliding glass doors are tinted “turtle glass”).

SHIELD OR TURN OFF OUTDOOR LIGHTS NEAR OR FACING THE BEACH.
Replace the light source with a low-wattage, yellow or amber bulb, LED preferably.

AVOID USING FLASHLIGHTS, LANTERNS, OR FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY WHILE ON THE BEACH AT NIGHT.
Cover the lens of your flashlight with red cellophane to make it less disruptive to sea turtles.

For more information regarding sea turtles on Sanibel, please visit the City’s website: http://mysanibel.com/Departments/Natural-Resources/Protecting-Our-Beaches/Sea-Turtles . To request “After 9, it’s turtle time” educational materials, please contact City of Sanibel Environmental Specialist Jason Cull at 239-472-3700 or Jason.cull@mysanibel.com