Following the light
A turtle hatchling’s journey
into the unknown
Story & photos by Olivia Cameron
Between May and October, sea turtle
hatchlings squirm beneath the
surface, eager to embark on their
journey to the ocean. Their voyage may
mean just a few feet of crawling, but those
fi rst minutes are crucial to their survival.
Gasparilla Island beaches have been
ideal nesting grounds to sea turtles for
thousands of years. Species of sea turtles
typically found in Florida include the
loggerhead, green, leatherback, hawksbill
and, the most endangered, the Kemp’s
ridley turtle.
The Boca Grande Sea Turtle Association
has been monitoring the success rate of
our local sea turtles, most commonly the
loggerhead species. Many disturbances
can be fatal to a hatchling. The BGSTA
Turtle Patrol continues to preserve
turtle nests and population all before
the sun rises each morning. The turtle
patrol records fi ndings and relays the
documentation to the Florida Fish and
Wildlife Conservation Commission. Both
Florida Law and the U.S. Endangered
Species Act of 1973, in which violators
may be subject to fi nes or imprisonment,
protect the safety of the turtle nests.
In the process of patrolling the beach,
BGSTA members and volunteers meet
before dawn to cover the grounds of their
set zones. Each zone is consistently
monitored to check for nest damage, new
nests and crawls that could indicate a
“false” nest.
September/October • 2020 • GASPARILLA MAGAZINE 27