Sea Turtle Patrol Starts on Anna Maria Island
Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring (AMITW) started patrols of Anna Maria Island for their 43rd sea turtle nesting season on April 15. Although the official start of nesting season is May 1st, in recent years, the first nests have been found on Anna Maria Island in April.
In 2025, there were 544 nests and 827 false crawls, mostly made by loggerheads, but including 16 green sea turtle nests and 30 green turtle false crawls. This was the 3rd highest year for number of nests laid in one season. AMITW documented 424 nests hatched and 30,899 hatchlings were produced – over 10,000 more than in 2024! They are hoping for another big season this year.
Hurricanes Debby, Helene and Milton decimated the vegetation and dune system on Anna Maria Island in 2024. Dunes and vegetation block artificial light from being seen from the beach and create a barrier for sea turtles. Last year, lights that had not been an issue in years past, were visible from the beach causing at least 181 disorientation events (where sea turtles traveled landward towards artificial lighting instead of seaward towards the water) involving 4,000 – 10,000 baby sea turtles. On many occasions sea turtles were found in the road or swimming pools. Thankfully, people called the AMITW 24-hour hotline (941) 301-8434 and the AMITW nighttime hatchling response team responded and saved many of these wayward hatchlings.
AMITW want to the community to be proactive and prevent sea turtles from wandering into the roads towards artificial light. They are urging residents and visitors to check their properties for lights that can be seen from the beach. If you can see the lights from the beach, they have potential to disorient sea turtles. AMITW recommend using red or amber LEDs with shields, block the lights with vegetation, or shut the lights off at night to keep sea turtles safe.
AMITW offer ways that YOU can help educate visitors this summer:
- Attend the 2nd Annual Suzi Fox Day – a Sea Turtle Nesting Season Kickoff Party which honors AMITW founder, Suzi Fox – will be held on May 1st from 3pm – 6pm at Coquina Beach Cafe. There will be FREE outreach materials and turtle friendly light bulbs, an educational booth, games and activities for kids, and music by Scott Blum & Bill Vinhage. Anyone who picks up educational materials gets a FREE BEER from Coquina Beach Café.
- Anna Maria Island businesses and properties can order FREE outreach materials to hand out to guests or post in rooms. These materials, like rack cards, door hangers, posters, and window clings, educate visitors about how to protect sea turtles and shorebirds on AMI. Please visit https://islandturtlewatch.com/get-involved/educate/ to request the outreach materials of your choice. Materials can also be picked up at Suzi Fox Day!
- Sea Turtle Tracks and Shorebird Facts talks are back starting May 4th! These fun and educational presentations put on by AMITW volunteers will be held May – August at Holmes Beach City Hall on Mondays from 10am – 11am (except for Memorial Day when City Hall is closed).
Sea turtles are federally protected by the Endangered Species Act and by state and local laws. If you see a sea turtle in distress on Anna Maria Island, please call AMITW at 941-301-8434 or FWC’s Wildlife Alert Hotline at 888-404-3922. For more information or ways to help protect nesting sea turtles and shorebirds, please visit www.islandturtlewatch.com.