The fight over lights on FMB: Margaritaville vs FWC

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission says Margaritaville on Fort Myers Beach is too bright with its TVs and fountain lights. Now, they want those lights turned off because they say it affects sea turtles.

Looking out the windows of Pink Shell‘s lobby you may not notice anything extraordinary.

“We went even further and tinted all of the glass that faces the beach to 15% tint,” said Bill Waichulis, Pink Shell’s General Manager.

Waichulis explained it’s all to protect these annual visitors

“Normally, we’ll get a dozen turtle nests every year,” said Waichulis. “All of the lighting at the Pink Shell is 100% turtle friendly.”

From the lobby, to the extreme window tint, to the bar:

“We do have TVs at the bar, but what we do at nine o’clock, any of the TVs facing the beach are turned off, and then the ones that are behind the bar, we actually bring the closure down so you can’t see the TVs,” said Waichulis.

These are the state’s rules, a model Fort Myers Beach adopted a few years ago according to its environmental project manager Chadd Chustz.

“TVs, whether they’re inside or outside, they admit short wavelength, blue indigo, violet light. It’s a light source, just like any other light, and it can cause a disorientation,” said Chustz.

It’s why in a 50-page report from Florida Fish and Wildlife, Margaritaville got dinged with 51 lighting violations they must fix to come into turtle compliance.

Including some previously approved spots like this lighting under the bar and the Compass Rose ballroom now need to go.

But one issue causing commotion is four TVs at the ‘License to chill bar’ which FWC doesn’t want to see turned off at 9 p.m. but wants to be removed altogether.

Chustz and his team aren’t involved in FWC’s report on Margaritaville, but WINK News did ask if there are rules for lights during the day.

“Sun’s out, it’s lit up. So during the days, no issues. The sea turtle ordinance only applies from sunset to sunrise, and then,”

In a statement, Margaritaville said they’re staunch supporters of marine and wildlife habitat, but they believe those demands exceed what is logical for turtles.

They told us they’re working with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and FWC.