Hearts in the sand and seaweed circles: Officials say it’s a troubling trend in marking turtle nests

Over the past few weeks, volunteers have seen a disturbing trend on Anna Maria Island.

According to a Bay News 9 report, people have been using seaweed to circle and drawing hearts in the sand around unmarked sea turtle nests. While likely done with good intentions, officials say they are causing major problems.

“Nesting numbers are about 40 to 50 higher than we had last year, so we’re somewhere around 230-240 nests,” Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring Director Suzi Fox told Bay News 9.

So far this season, Fox believes nearly two dozen nests have been “compromised,” according to Bay News 9. But to what extent won’t be determined until the eggs begin to hatch.

Fox explained that volunteers need nesting criteria to determine the species that made the nest. That criteria is gone over when people mark the nests themselves, and it takes away data and possibly sea turtle lives, according to Bay News 9.

“If one egg is compromised and the yolk comes out and gets on the other eggs, every egg is void,” Fox told Bay News 9.

Holmes Beach Chief of Police William Tokajer told Bay News 9 that molesting a turtle nest is against federal law, a state law, and a city ordinance that could land offenders with a fine from $25,000 up to $100,000 and up to a year in prison.

This story was originally published June 21, 2017 at 9:30 PM with the headline "Hearts in the sand and seaweed circles: Officials say it’s a troubling trend in marking turtle nests."