Topsail Island Sea Turtle Patrol using new technologies and new tape to protect nests

NORTH TOPSAIL BEACH, NC (WWAY) — This year, volunteers at north topsail beach are using sophisticated technology to monitor baby sea turtles.

The Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center has begun using hydrophones, normally used to listen for dolphins and whales, to listen for movement from the sea turtle eggs to determine when they might hatch.

They’re even using temperature data loggers to more accurately predict the sex of the turtles since their sex is determined by the temperature of the sand the eggs are laid in.

“You know, sea turtle conservation is the long haul,” Terry Meyer, the center’s conservation director said. “It takes 25 to 35 years for a  loggerhead sea turtle to be reproductively mature. I started with this project 27 years ago. My first hatchlings are probably not yet reproductively mature. So all of this technology that we’re using and that we’re contributing to the larger scientific database is important.”

However, to be able to track the nests, they first need to be protected from humans.

On Wednesday, August 9th, a new reusable and biodegradable sea turtle nest tape was unveiled, which will allow the location of nests to be marked so beach-goers know not to go near them.

Keith Dorman, the founder of Love Thy Turtle, which created the tape, said the tape doesn’t just protect the eggs but teaches the public as well.

“You know, sea turtles have been nesting on these beaches for over a million years,” Dorman said. “I mean, that’s just, it’s mind-blowing, it really is when you think about it. And so, to me, the most important is to educate the beach-goers cause it’s happening right before our eyes for a million years, this has been going on.”

There are 104 loggerhead turtle nests located along North Topsail Beach.