Sea turtles thrive as coronavirus lockdowns empty nesting beaches, experts say

Beaches emptied of people by coronavirus lockdowns from Florida to Thailand are a boon to sea turtles seeking a quiet place to lay eggs, experts say.

“We’re excited to see our turtles thrive in this environment,” said Sarah Hirsch, senior manager of research and data at Loggerhead Marinelife Center in Florida, WPEC reported.

“Our world has changed, but these turtles have been doing this for millions of years and it’s just reassuring and gives us hope that the world is still going on,” she said, according to the station.

In Thailand, researchers have found 11 leatherback turtle nests since November, the most in 20 years, The Guardian reported. No nests at all have been found there in the past five years.

“This is a very good sign for us because many areas for spawning have been destroyed by humans,” said Kongkiat Kittiwatanawong, director of the Phuket Marine Biological Centre, according to the publication.

In Florida, researchers have tallied 72 nests so far on Juno Beach near Fort Lauderdale, mostly leatherback turtles with one loggerhead turtle nest, CNN reported.

“I think there is a strong likelihood that we will see decreased human-caused impacts on sea turtle nesting this year, which is a rare silver lining to this global pandemic,” said David Godfrey, executive director of the Sea Turtle Conservancy, according to the network.

Godfrey cautioned that it’s still too early in turtle nesting season to know how things will turn out, though, according to the network.

The Loggerhead Marinelife Center counted 21,000 nests on more than nine miles of beaches near Juno Beach in 2019, WPEC reported.

Statewide, Florida reported more than 395,700 sea turtle nests in 2019, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission reported.

“All seven species of sea turtles” are listed as endangered, CBS News reported. Disturbed or damaged nesting beaches are one of the chief causes.

“All of the reduced human presence on the beach also means that there will be less garbage and other plastics entering the marine environment,” Godfrey said, according to the network.. “Ingestion and entanglement in plastic and marine debris also are leading causes of injury to sea turtles.”

Sea turtles also are at risk of being hurt or killed by collisions with boats, so lockdown orders keeping people out of the water also have helped, CBS News reported.

With the reopening of some Florida beaches, experts worry turtle nests may again be at risk, CNN reported. Turtle eggs take about 60 days to hatch.

“It just depends on the behavior of people after the closures end,” said Justin Perrault, director of research at the Loggerhead Marinelife Center, according to the network.

“And if there’s an excessive amount on the beaches, then more people means more interaction with turtles, which can be negative if they don’t follow the rules,” he said, CNN reported.