Hotels and resorts often provide guests with beach chairs and umbrellas. If these remain on the beach at night, they may block egg-laden females from suitable nesting sites or confuse hatchlings attempting to find the sea. In the absence of any mitigative action, experience shows that sea turtles can be mortally harmed on beaches strewn with recreational equipment and other potential obstacles to nesting.
Solutions!
Beach furniture, recreational equipment (e.g., sailboats) and other large objects should be removed from the beach before nightfall. To the extent practicable, furniture and equipment should be removed manually because vehicles can compact surface sand and crush incubating eggs. If beach furniture cannot be removed from the beach entirely, consider stacking it to reduce the impact. Furniture should be arranged so that the shortest side faces the water.
Umbrella sleeves or permanent holders can offer additional protection against nest damage by ensuring that umbrellas will not be thrust into a nest area. Umbrellas that fasten onto other furniture present another practical alternative. Ideally, a sea turtle expert should be recruited (or trained in-house) to monitor the beach, make note of the position of new nests, obscure (rub out) the nesting crawl if poaching is a threat, and clearly block-off these nests every morning before guests or staff begin to re-establish the beach furniture.
With the help of local conservation groups, beachfront hotels and resorts can promote nest protection using any one of several techniques that prevent beachgoers from accidentally damaging the incubating eggs. These techniques can include markings and signs that caution beachgoers to sensitive habitat, and can be informative in terms of letting the public know that sea turtle eggs are incubating.
Signage can also inform tourists that chairs and umbrellas should be established at least 2 m (6 feet) from marked sea turtle nests in order to prevent the accidental puncture of eggs or compaction (crushing) of the nest. If egg poaching is a threat, nest locations should not be marked.
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