Burkholder, a research scientist at Nova Southeastern University, directs the Marine Environmental Education Center (MEEC) at the Carpenter House in Hollywood. The hiatus for beachgoers coincides with the beginning of this year’s nesting season for sea turtles.
Three different types of sea turtles come to lay their eggs on Broward beaches: leatherbacks come first. There are about a dozen nests so far, Burkholder said. Any day now the loggerheads should start laying their eggs — they make up the most nests in Broward. Later in the season, green sea turtles will lay some nests, too. The Conservation Program has surveyors looking at about 24 miles of beaches every day from March 1 through the end of October. One thing they’ve already seen is less garbage in the turtles’ way.
“Marine debris is a huge issue across the board … we do still see the things that are being washed in, but we’re certainly seeing less trash on the beach than when we’ve got tens of thousands of people on the beach every day throwing their stuff in the sand,” Burkholder said.
Source: WLRN
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