12/30/24 @ 4:30 p.m. - In Nassau County, Florida, residents often enjoy bonfires on the beach. This popular tradition combines the beauty of the beach with the social appeal of a bonfire while creating a cozy atmosphere perfect for roasting marshmallows, sharing stories, or relaxing under the stars. 

The Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) received the attached photo from a resident expressing concerns that pallets are being used for bonfires on the beach. At this time, we would to remind everyone of the Rules and Regulations related to fires on the beach.

First, please note that no one should ever burn pallets due to them being treated with chemicals that when burned, release toxic fumes and create a health risk to anyone inhaling the smoke. Additionally, pallets usually contain nail or staples which are left behind after the pallet burns. Leaving rusty nails and staples on the beach is a safety hazard for unsuspecting beach-walkers and is definitely not good for our nesting shorebirds or marine life. 

Nassau County Ordinance No. 2020-31, Section 4, regulates fires on County beaches (Peters Point south to the State Park) beach as follows: 

1. No fires shall be permitted between the dates of May 1 - October 31 each year (Sea Turtle Nesting Season)
2. Fires outside of those dates shall not take place in the dunes or outside the designated areas for vehicles.
3. Thou shall not use wood containing nails, staples, rivets, fasteners, straps or similar items.
4. No fire shall be vacated or left without completely extinguishing the fire and covering up the fire area. 

Violations to Section 4 shall subject the violator to an order to leave the beach. Should the violator fail to leave, the violator will be considered a trespasser and shall be subject to a penalty of a second degree misdemeanor punishable by five hundred dollars and/or sixty days in jail. 

Thank you for keeping these regulations in mind and ensuring that you are protecting both the environment and the residents and visitors of Nassau County.

-Sabrina Robertson
 Communications Officer

10/29/24 @ 6:00 a.m. - For our final Turtle Talk Tuesday of the 2024 nesting season, below is one final update from the Amelia Island Sea Turtle Watch's Executive Director Mary Duffy. 

"Sea turtle nesting season has come to an end on Amelia Island.  Our first nest was laid on May 5 and our last nest was laid on August 14.  We recorded 156 nests for 2024 in the area monitored by AISTW.  Amelia Island State Park recorded 3 nests and Ft. Clinch State Park recorded a record 63 nests, for a total of 222 nests on Amelia Island.

In addition to our common loggerhead species, we documented 1 leatherback nest, 1 extremely endangered Kemps Ridley nest, and 1 green turtle nest.  
 
2024 brought a couple of strange events on our beach.  Among the most bizarre event, was the discovery of a multi-million dollar’s worth bundle of illegal drugs.  When you are the first persons on the beach every morning, there is no telling what you will find.
 
Amelia Island was also fortunate to experience two sea turtle releases by the Georgia Sea Turtle Center.  On both occasions, the rehabilitated sea turtles that were released back to the sea, were turtles that had been rescued on the island.  Hundreds of people gathered to watch the releases.
 
2024 was no different from other years when we experienced tropical storms, hurricanes, and king tides.  These events can, and do, have devastating effects on incubating sea turtle nests.  Sea turtles, however, are very adaptable animals.  By laying multiple nests of nearly 100 eggs each in a given season, sea turtles have hedged their bets against the loss of eggs due to tropical events.

Out of 156 nests, 16 were lost to overall erosion, 2 were destroyed by accretion of sand, 3 were lost to hurricane Debby, and 1 was lost to hurricane Milton. 

After each nest incubates and emerges, authorized personnel wait 3 days to inventory each clutch.  As data collectors, volunteers categorize and count all remaining contents. 

In 2024, the following data was collected:
Dead in the nest:  119
Live in the nest:  106
Pipped dead (egg broken open but hatchling is dead):  118
Pipped live (egg broken open and hatchling is alive): 14
Unhatched (egg is infertile or a hatchling is dead in an unhatched egg):  1,607
Live emerged: 12,281

Over the years, we have determined that numbers such as these are common and proportionate to the total number of eggs laid in a particular season. 
 
As we close out the 2024 sea turtle nesting season, our many thanks go out to all the businesses, community members, and governmental agencies that have supported us along the way.  As we approach our 40th anniversary, we are grateful for the extraordinary volunteers who make this group so special.  Thank you to all!" 
 

10/22/24 @ 10:45 a.m.- As we get close to wrapping up another sea turtle nesting season, we wanted to share this fun activity you can do at home with your children. This Make a Loggerhead Turtle activity sheet is easy to follow and all you need is a white paper plate, scissors, a pencil, a short piece of string, black waterproof koki-pen, rules and green and brown paint. Once finished, you can use it as a wall decoration, a hat, or make several to string together for a mobile. Enjoy!

-Sabrina Robertson
 Public Information Officer

10/15/24 @ 8:30 a.m.

Sea Turtle Nesting season is coming to an end (October 31st) and after spending all summer talking about the types of sea turtles, which ones nest on Amelia Island, and other facts related to nesting and hatching, today we want to talk about the sea turtle's life cycle. 

The life of a sea turtle starts when a nesting female lays its eggs. About 6-8 weeks later, tiny hatchlings make their way to the surface of the sand and heads toward the water. But what happens then? 

As young turtles, very little is known about where they go after they reach the ocean. This period used to be known as "the lost years". However over the past few decades, researchers have pieced together information from ship observations, the pattern of sea currents and other data. Researchers have also studied isotopes from turtle tissue to analyze their diet and past locations. This information seems to indicate that hatchlings head out to sea to avoid predators. Once off the continental shelf, the growing turtle ends up in a current (known as the North Atlantic subtropic), and within a few years, they return to their birthplace. Once the turtle is fully grown, they will return to the place where they were born to mate. Once she lays her eggs on the nesting beach, the cycle starts again. 

Want to learn more? Visit www.seeturtles.org/sea-turtle-life-cycle. ​

10/10/24 @ 7:30 p.m. 

BEACH CONDITIONS

The beach closure has been suspended and the beach is now open to pedestrians. For public safety reasons, beach driving is still temporarily suspended on County beaches (Peters Point south to the State Park) due to high tides. Until further notice, no vehicles shall be on the beach except for law enforcement, sea turtle patrol or any other vehicle deemed necessary by the County Manager.

County Officials will continue to monitor the situation closely and will lift the suspension when deemed safe to do so. ​

Update from Nassau EM:
Effective at 9:00 p.m. on October 9th, 2024, the beaches within the unincorporated areas of Nassau County will be closed. This closure bans all pedestrian traffic, vehicular traffic, and horse traffic, except for law enforcement, emergency and turtle patrol personnel and vehicles, or individuals and vehicles deemed necessary by the County Manager.

To read a full copy of the Evacuation Order, click here

10/8/24 @ 10:00 a.m. - This information is from the Florida Fish & Wildlife Commission's website and it explains a study that allows researchers to determine long-term trends in sea turtle populations. 

The Importance of Florida Bay
Florida Bay is an important sea turtle habitat located between the southern tip of the Florida peninsula and the Florida Keys.
Every summer, a team of researchers captures sea turtles that live in Florida Bay to learn more about them. The information gathered by this study allows the researchers to determine long-term trends in sea turtle abundance and to monitor and investigate any changes in the sea turtle populations.

Some of the questions researchers are attempting to answer include the following:

• Are the numbers of sea turtles increasing or decreasing in Florida Bay?
• Are loggerhead sea turtles long-term residents of Florida Bay?
• What are the growth rates of loggerheads in Florida Bay and is it changing over time?
• Is the overall health of loggerhead sea turtles in Florida Bay changing over time and how?

About 75-100 live loggerheads are captured in southwestern Florida Bay over a 10-day sampling period in early summer each year.

Researchers go out on two flat-bottomed vessels, traveling at a slow speed in a random search pattern until a turtle is spotted. Snorkelers then dive near the turtles and capture them by hand.

Search paths and coordinates of the capture site are taken using a Global Positioning System (GPS) unit. Environmental data are noted, including water depth and a description of the sea bottom. The turtle is brought on board and measured, weighed, examined externally and photographed. Any signs of injuries or disease are documented.

Turtles are tagged with Inconel metal tags along the rear edge of both front flippers. Passive integrated transponder (PIT) tags are also placed into the right front flipper using a sterile hypodermic needle. The PIT tag is a tiny microprocessor capable of transmitting a unique identification code when excited by a detector.

Before releasing the turtle, a number is painted on the carapace to make sure the same one is not recaptured during the sampling period. The paint is not permanent - it fades after a few weeks.

-Sabrina Robertson
 Public Information Officer

10/1/24 @ 9:15 a.m. - For this Turtle Talk Tuesday, we wanted to share some information from the Amelia Island Sea Turtle Watch regarding the process of a nesting sea turtle. In this case, we are looking at a leatherback turtle. After digging a hole with her rear flippers and once she's sensed that the hole is deep enough, she will begin laying her eggs. She covers the chamber (hole) with her rear flippers, as if she is protecting the eggs from view by observers. 

Once the egg laying process is complete, the leatherback turtle will begin to drag the sand she took out to build the chamber and use it to cover the eggs.  She will carefully pack the sand tightly over the eggs, creating a sealed chamber with just enough oxygen for the eggs to develop into healthy hatchlings.  

The final nesting behavior before returning to sea consists of the turtle camouflaging the nest site.  After packing the sand down tightly over the eggs, the female leatherback begins to thrash with all flippers, throwing sand wildly over the nest site. This is an instinctive attempt to protect the eggs from predators. 

Here is a link to the AISTW website where you can find several videos including videos of nesting mothers digging holes, depositing eggs, camouflaging the nest and returning to the sea. Enjoy!

-Sabrina Robertson
 Public Information Officer