Marine turtle nest protection measures including nest success evaluations for in situ and relocated nests for the city of Sarasota, Lido Key beach restoration project.

Abstract

The City of Sarasota, Sarasota County, Florida was authorized under the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) and a FDEP Water Resources permit, to nourish the central segment of the Lido Key gulf shoreline in Florida. The permits for this project contain specific provisions for marine turtle monitoring. This report summarizes activities of the sea turtle monitoring project and includes the following: daily early morning surveys of the nesting beach were required to begin 65 days prior to commencement of construction activities or May 1, 1997, whichever date was later, and were required to continue until October 31, 1997; and nests located within the project area were relocated between sunrise and 9:00am daily. All nesting surveys, nest relocations, nest caging activities, and nest success evaluations were conducted by persons with prior experience and training. This report contains a log of the monthly Marine Turtle Nesting Summary Reports submitted to the City of Sarasota.