Sea turtles at particular risk during tropical storms, hurricanes

Small creatures are at risk of being washed away along the beaches with Tropical Storm Elsa, and sea turtle nests are particularly vulnerable to its impacts, especially storm surge.

While the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation doesn’t have a permit to do anything precautionary, the group does take steps to keep track of its booming nest population.

On a stretch of sand on Sanibel Island Monday afternoon, bright yellow stakes marked several sea turtle nests, each one a reminder of what’s at stake.

When Tropical Storm Cristobal moved north in the Gulf of Mexico toward Louisiana in June of last year, sea turtles felt the punch hundreds of miles away on Sanibel.

The SCCF said it lost a couple of dozen nests to that storm.

Right now, they’re keeping a close eye on the more than 600 nested turtles.

They can’t take preventative measures to protect nests but do run surveys and note GPS locations. This is done so they know if any nest markers wash away, or worse, they’ll know if the nest washes away.

Until then, all eyes are on Elsa to see what rolls in.

SCCF says its staff appreciates any extra eyes on the beach during and after a storm.

If you see any exposed eggs, you can call the group’s sea turtle hotline at (978)728-3663.