Sea turtle protection measures including nest and hatch success, May 1 through October 31, 1998; mid-key interim beach restoration project.

Abstract

Between October of 1996 and March of 1997, the Town of Longboat Key, Florida, completed interim beach restoration along approximately 19,000 linear feet of the Gulf of Mexico shoreline in southern Manatee and northern Sarasota Counties. The shoreline of Longboat Key is utilized as nesting habitat by marine turtles which are protected. Because beach restoration can result in changes that may affect the nesting activity of adult turtles and the hatch and subsequent emergence success of the nests, special conditions were included in these permits. This report summarizes Mote Marine Laboratory's activities in meeting the special permit conditions for evaluating the effectiveness of the restored beach in conjunction with marine turtle nest/hatch activities. Evaluation took place during the 1998 sea turtle nesting season.