How to Be a Friend to Sea Turtles this Summer 

It’s officially the season of weekend and day trips to the beach, especially for Triangle residents in a hurry to enjoy surf, sand, and seafood. Saying that, it’s important to remember that it’s also sea turtle nesting season along the NC coast. From May until September, female sea turtles come ashore and lay their eggs on more than 300 miles of beach habitat, a habitat that is largely shared by us.  

To find out how to be a good friend to sea turtles on our NC beaches, we recently spoke with Julia Wax, owner of Emerald Isle Realty and member of the Emerald Isle Sea Turtle Patrol, and Dale Baquer, program coordinator for the Emerald Isle Sea Turtle Patrol.  

How can vacationers help this year?   

• Our sea turtle motto for 2023 is “Lights out, turtles dig the dark!”  Be sure your porch lights are always off on the oceanfront porch unless the homeowner has upgraded to the new for this year, turtle-friendly lighting. Emerald Isle Realty and the Emerald Isle Sea Turtle Patrol are assisting with providing the new light bulbs. Emerald Isle Sea Turtle Patrol has recently purchased 2,500 of the long-wave lights, which emit amber light instead of white light, and hope to give away one to each oceanfront homeowner.  Emerald Isle Realty is helping to facilitate by offering to purchase on behalf of our homeowners and install the turtle-friendly lights.   
• It is always fun to dig holes at the beach, but at the end of the day, please fill in all holes. Mother turtles can get stuck, AND people walking at night can get seriously injured. Holes are also a danger to emergency vehicles.    
• If you are fortunate to witness a nesting sea turtle mama or hatchlings finding their way to the ocean, remember: no flash photography and no flashlights. They disturb nesting mother turtles and temporarily blind hatching baby turtles. Keep a very respectful distance.    
• Turtles think plastic bags are jellyfish, which is their main food source; they eat them and get very sick. Remember to always take all of your trash and recyclables off the beach at the end of the day. And if you see litter, be a good neighbor — pick it up and help keep our beaches trash free.  
• Fireworks are illegal in North Carolina. Loud noise keeps mother turtles from coming on shore to nest and disturbs baby turtles during hatching.      
• Emerald Isle has an ordinance which requires that we remove beach equipment at the end of each day, as they can cause nesting mothers and hatchlings to become trapped.     
• If vacationers see turtle tracks, a nesting turtle, or hatchlings walking to the sea, then call the Emerald Isle Police Department, who will then dispatch one of our Nest Response Teams to investigate. That number is (252) 354-2021 or local number (252) 646-8292. eiseaturtlepatrol.org