PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — Sea turtle breading and nesting season is in full swing across South Florida, and wildlife experts are urging boaters to slow down.
The warning comes after four endangered leatherback turtles were killed in recent boat strikes in the Palm Beach County intracoastal waterway.
From march through October, roughly 40,000 sea turtles come to palm beach county to nest.
But just as the season began, conservationists say four leather backs were killed by boat strikes.
“The loss of one of those individuals is a really great loss to the species as a whole,” said Dr. Heather Barron.
Barron says boat strikes can damage a turtle’s brain, spinal cord, limbs, and even internal organs.
“But one thing is certain,” she said. “They’re almost all pretty bad in terms of their impact on the animal. And the prognosis for the animal is often quite grave.”
And during nesting and breeding season those strikes can make an already vulnerable population even more fragile.
“If many of the sea turtles that would nest in this area are hit by boats and killed that will be fewer and fewer animals that will ever come back here,” said Barron.
Andy Dehart is a CEO of Lagerhead marine life center.
“We’re critically affecting these species that come here for this valuable time in their life,” said Dehart. “We’re a long way from where we used to be where turtles were caught in bycatch and turtles were caught for soup. This isn’t targeted injuries on turtles. It’s just an accident. But what we do hope is that people learn.”
With Memorial Day and the Fourth of July approaching, he says boaters play a key role in preventing these tragedies.
“It’s very preventable if people just monitor their speed,” said Dehart. “There’s no set speed limit. We’re not advocating for a set speed limit, but monitor, go safe in that first mile and a half from shore, put on polarized glasses, and if you can, have a spotter.”
A voluntary sea turtle protection zone remains in place until Oct. 31 and spans all 45 miles of Palm Beach County from shore to one mile out at sea.
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