Sea Turtle Conservation League of Singer Island
The Sea Turtle Conservation League of Singer Island is one of the many nonprofit volunteer organizations working for the preservation of these endangered reptiles.
The League is made of volunteers who patrol the approximately 2 1/2 mile length of beach on Singer Island, Florida extending from the southern boundary of MacArthur Beach State Park to the southern boundary of Riviera Municipal Beach. The group is authorized by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to conduct nesting surveys daily, immediately after sunrise, from March 1 to October 31 of each year, to relocate nests when necessary, and to maintain and display preserved specimens. We would love to have you join our group of volunteers.
If you think you would enjoy helping out, contact us and we’ll get back to you right away!
We have nesting statistics records for you to examine for the Singer Island beach patrolled by the Conservation League. Our records cover nesting seasons from 1996 to present.
The work of groups like the Sea Turtle Conservation League of Singer Island becomes more important each year even though all six (6) species of U.S. sea turtle are protected by the 1973 Endangered Species Act. The threats to the continued existence and flourishing of the turtles are many. Thousands of sea turtles drown in shrimp trawls and fishing gear every year. Others perish after eating plastic debris mistaken for jellyfish or from other forms of pollution in the ocean. And, as coastal areas continue to be developed, the resulting loss of turtle habitat becomes a critical factor.
Hatchling sea turtles are easily disoriented by artificial light sources from parking lots and homes. Hatchlings instinctively scramble from their nests to the ocean by turning towards the light of the moon on the water. If street or parking lot lights are too bright, the baby turtles will turn in the wrong direction and be killed by predators, exhaustion, or in traffic.
Cooperative efforts by the various jurisdictional agencies and by citizens and local governments in coastal areas can go a long way towards solving the threat to turtles from artificial lighting and can do so without causing undue inconvenience or risking human safety.
