The Department of Environment has renewed its call for beachfront property owners to install turtle-friendly lighting following the rescue of a nesting green sea turtle along Seven Mile Beach.
In a post on its official Facebook page on Friday, the DoE said that visiting scientist Joe Roche, while conducting night work Monday, found a nesting turtle that had made a wrong turn.
“While enforcement were out on anti-poaching patrol Joe was checking nesting areas along SMB, when he came across a turtle that took a wrong left turn at Albuquerque and ended up in a pool. Joe, Chief Conservation Officer Mark Orr, and a helpful tourist family all helped the turtle back out of the pool,” the DoE said.
The DoE said fortunately the rescued turtle was energetic enough to make her own way down the beach.
“Non-turtle friendly lights can disorient adult turtles and hatchlings. If you’re on the beach and haven’t upgraded your lights to turtle friendly lighting (TFL) and you want to find out more about the DoE’s TFL programme please email [email protected],” the DoE wrote as it appealed for properties to partner with the turtle team to keep the animals safe.
Turtle-friendly lighting is not mandatory. However, it was one of the proposals in the draft Sea Turtle Conservation Plan put forward by the National Conservation Council back in 2019.
The DoE is revising the plan following its review by Cabinet.
The DoE, in its turtle-friendly lighting statement on its website, had said that a revised plan which incorporates public feedback would be submitted to Cabinet by the National Conservation Council, “at which time turtle friendly lighting may become a legal requirement. For new development it will be with immediate effect and for existing it will be implemented within 3 years, in critical habitat”.
The DoE added that for new construction and docks on turtle-nesting beaches, turtle-friendly lighting is increasingly being required as a condition of approval by the Central Planning Authority and Cabinet.
“Other than when required through conditions attached to planning permission for new construction on nesting beaches, turtle friendly lighting is not currently required by law in the Cayman Islands,” the DoE said.
In the Cayman Islands, May to November is turtle-nesting season, when sea turtles emerge from the sea at night, lay their eggs in the sand, and return to the water.
The DoE’s turtle team, according to Friday’s post, had “a long turtle day” on Monday.
“There were so many turtle nests that they were out for more than 10 hours logging them all,” it added.
It was during the course of that busy day that the turtle was rescued.
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