Orange Beach, Ala. - (OBA) - Visitors are now outdoing themselves to become a part of the solution instead of the pollution on the Alabama Gulf Coast. Share the Beach was formed in 2005 mainly to initiate a plan of action that would help secure safe passage for the age-old sea turtles that nest here each year. Although education to the public is still highly necessary, 2023 with its record turtle nesting season is offering some massive hope for the future in how we share our beaches.

Today marks the 23rd year of the official World Sea Turtle Day. Many conservation organizations choose to celebrate one of the seven species of sea turtles for each day of the week. The date June 16 as a celebration of all sea turtles was decided honoring renowned sea turtle conservationist Dr. Archie Carr. Founder of the Sea Turtle Conservancy in Gainesville, FL, Dr. Carr held a reputation as a leading innovator in the protection and awareness of the over 100 million-year-old creatures. Dr. Carr, born June 16, 1909, a native of Mobile, Alabama, wrote 11 books about sea turtles and over 120 educational and scientific articles about their behaviors, thus spreading knowledge from coast to coast before he died in 1987. For more history on Dr. Carr, visit these sites. (From MobileBayMag.com)

This year’s auspicious season is already surpassing the benchmark in past years 2016, and 2017 gearing up for record-breaking numbers. Share the Beach director Sara Johnson explains our southern shores “are up to 47 nests, with two being confirmed Kemp’s Ridleys, a couple of other suspected Kemp's, and the rest Loggerheads.” Nearly all species of sea turtles are now classified as endangered however the Kemp’s Ridley is considered critically endangered, making it all the more special to have two nests so far this year. Fluctuating nest temperatures will produce a mix of both male and female hatchlings in the months to come cold for males and warmer spots for females. The number of eggs in a nest is called a clutch and, depending on the species, will vary. Loggerheads, our most common, can avenge up to 122 eggs per clutch. These magnificent solo traveling beauties will crawl on our beaches and lay eggs more than once on their southern coast trip. They typically lay anywhere from two to eight times in one season. Unfortunately, only a few hatchlings will survive and make it to adulthood, making the work our Share the Beach volunteers do more admirable with each year. 

We have great hope for this year as the number of nests are growing daily. They are opening up more opportunities for our coastal visitors to be a part of the solution. There are many imperative things our community and its guest can and must do to ensure the population of our ancient friends remains in flux. Johnson is overjoyed with the nesting turnout this season as well as on-beach assistance and hotline flow from vacationers. Nesting turtles this year have been spotted and called into hotlines and guests have even aided in crowd control to keep people back and lights off as Share the Beach volunteers arrive to secure the area. “Knowing that we are reaching visitors to our beaches with our education initiatives and people are helping our sea turtles succeed is very rewarding!” States Johnson. People are asked to stay at least 30 feet away from any turtle or nesting site that hasn’t been marked, stay quiet, and step away to call 866-SEA-TURTLE or 866-732-8878 to make a report. For more information www.joinACF.org

Even with all the good news of the 2023 Sea Turtle Nesting season, it is still imperative to continue to reach the public and share what you know with your fellow beach mate. Not all of our Alabama coastal visitors are adhering to the leave only footprints motto and beach standard. Just this year, reports of turtle harassment have come in and photo evidence of the turtle struggles was shared on social media. Sea turtles return to the same region and even the same beaches that they hatched on. This means they often travel over 10,000 miles to reach their preferred nesting grounds. Once on the shores, turtles need no interference not only from the human touch but also from human items. This is where leave-only footprints come in, and we have an opportunity to help the Momma after her long voyage emerge onto more of an as we found it sandy shore. Leave only footprints signs are fixated all over the beaches and throughout coastal towns and the message is simply what it says leave only footprints. Johnson shares that this year one Momma sea turtle was unsuccessful due to a tent and towel left on the beach. The photo shows her attempt to nest with “crawl tracks going under the tent and over items to try to nest, but she was not successful.” She hopes that people will be encouraged by others to clean up all of their items, anything that could be considered debris from the beach, and help in the continuous attempt to protect these endangered creatures. Let us all work together to be a part of the solution. When we know better, we must do better. Happy World Sea Turtle Day, share the beach.

Ways to celebrate World Sea Turtle Day:

• Clean the beaches
• Donate to a coastal conservation group
• Be mindful of harmful debris including plastics, especially around waterways
• Lead others in following the same guidelines and beach etiquette-leave only footprints
• Purchase reusable products for yourself and as gifts.
• Read a book on Sea turtles
• Watch a documentary on Sea turtles
• Become a volunteer or learn more at sharethebeach.com

Watch a fun children and family movie featuring sea turtles:

• Finding Nemo
• A Turtles Tale: Sammy’s Adventure
• Turtle: The Incredible Journey
• Moana

Always remember to fill in any holes and take away anything you’ve built including flattening sand

castles.