Beach Lighting

Sea turtles have crawled onto beaches to nest for millions of years. It was once easy for hatchlings to find the ocean after emerging from nests using the contrast between the darker dune and the brighter ocean. 

In the world today, however, the trek to and from the ocean is often fraught with many hazards. Lights shining onto the beach send confusing cues. Mother sea turtles may change their minds and go back to the ocean without laying eggs or not come onto the beach at all. If they do lay eggs, their hatchlings naturally head toward the brightest light and may end up in parking lots, under beach homes or in the dunes unable to reach the ocean. When hatchlings fail to find a direct path to the ocean, they are more prone to predation, dehydration, energy loss and death. There is no safe level of light pollution for sea turtles or replacement for the incredible loss of habitat it causes.