SC DNR: keep artificial lights off the beach to protect Sea Turtles

COLUMBIA, SC (WOLO)– South Carolina Department of Natural Resources officials say the 2018 sea turtle hatching season is underway in our state.
Due to dune erosion, state wildlife officials say it’s more important than ever to keep artificial lights off the beach.

According to a release from SC DNR, beginning in May of each year, four sea turtle species come ashore to lay eggs on South Carolina beaches. After two months of incubation, young turtles emerge from their ping pong ball-sized eggs and quickly crawl back to the ocean.

Early on Sunday, July 8, the first hatch of the year happened on Edisto Island, say SC DNR officials, where sea turtle volunteers on their daily morning patrol were lucky enough to witness 109 hatchling loggerheads emerge from the nest.
About a dozen nests have since followed suit across the coast.

Three consecutive years of active hurricane seasons have leveled the dunes on many South Carolina beaches, eliminating a barrier between beachfront properties and the stretches where sea turtles come ashore to nest.
That’s why it’s especially important for beachfront property owners and visitors to reduce the amount of light pollution on beaches, say SC DNR officials.
Officials say from dawn until dusk, you can help by turning off all beach-facing lights, closing blinds and drapes on windows that face the ocean, and avoiding flashlight and flash photography use on the beach.
Red-filtered lights are a safer alternative.