Sea turtle monitoring,nest evaluation, and protection measures for the City of Venice 2009.

Abstract

This report summarizes sea turtle monitoring by Mote Marine Laboratory’s Sea Turtle Conservation and Research Program for the Venice shoreline in 2009. Venice shoreline contains 7.4 km (4.6 mi) of sea turtle nesting habitat in Sarasota County. Loggerhead turtles accounted for 99.7% of sea turtle activity on the Venice shoreline in 2009; Kemp’s ridley turtles accounted for the remaining 0.3%. Loggerhead nesting occurred between May 10 and August 15 and the Kemp’s ridley nest occurred on June 5. Nesting activity peaked during the fourth week of June. Beach monitoring efforts documented 175 loggerhead nests, 130 loggerhead NNEs, and one Kemp’s ridley nest. There were 157 in situ and 19 relocated nests. Nesting density, including both loggerhead and Kemp’s ridley nests, was 23.8 nests/km (38.3 nests/mi).