Turtle tracks give clue that she was caught in beach chair

A loggerhead sea turtle could be in bad shape as it might have dragged a beach chair into the water with her.

Mote Marine Laboratory posted photos on Facebook of sea turtle tracks on Longboat Key from Thursday morning that show turtle tracks outlined by two thin lines, which members of Mote’s Sea Turtle Patrol believe were from the turtle getting caught in a beach chair.

The turtle and chair were not found, according to Mote.

“It is possible that the turtle has dislodged from the chair, however, if the chair is still attached then the turtle could be in serious trouble,” the post read. “These reptiles need to surface to breathe.”

Beach furniture, if not stacked near the dunes and off the beach, could be harmful to sea turtles who crawl on shore to nest or hatchlings who are headed to the Gulf, Mote said in the post.

According to the Sarasota County Sea Turtle Protection Ordinance, “temporary structures” including beach furniture must be off the beach from sunset to sunrise as they can trap sea turtles, according to Mote.

Anna Maria Island has three laws related to turtles, preventing people from parking on nesting habitat, turning off or concealing artificial lights and cleaning up trash on nesting beaches, according to the Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch.

Five species of sea turtles are protected by Florida state statutes, barring anyone from harassing or killing individuals, or taking their eggs or hatchlings.

Extra precautions are taken during the official turtle nesting season, which runs from May through October though sea turtles have been known to nest earlier and later. They crawl up on shore, usually when it’s dark, and their tracks and nests are marked by sea turtle volunteers before maintenance crews are allowed to rake the beaches.

This nesting season is setting up to be a record-breaker. According to Mote’s turtle nesting data through July 1, there have been 3,193 loggerhead sea turtle nests and 37 green sea turtle nests from Longboat Key to Venice. In the same time frame last season, there were 2,639 loggerhead nests and one green nest.

As of Sunday, there were 347 turtle nests on Anna Maria Island, all but a few belonging to loggerheads. That’s compared to 275 nests at the same point last year.

If you see an injured sea turtle in waters around Manatee and Sarasota counties, you can contact Mote's Stranding Investigations Program 24 hours a day at 941-988-0212. If you see an injured sea turtle outside of Manatee or Sarasota waters, you can contact the FWC’s Division of Law Enforcement at 1-888-404-3922 or dial *FWC.

This story was originally published July 7, 2017 at 10:49 AM with the headline "Turtle tracks give clue that she was caught in beach chair."