PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. \u2014 Sea turtle breading and nesting season is in full swing across South Florida, and wildlife experts are urging boaters to slow down.<\/p>\n
The warning comes after four endangered leatherback turtles were killed in recent boat strikes in the Palm Beach County intracoastal waterway.<\/p>\n
From march through October, roughly 40,000 sea turtles come to palm beach county to nest.<\/p>\n
But just as the season began, conservationists say four leather backs were killed by boat strikes.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe loss of one of those individuals is a really great loss to the species as a whole,\u201d said Dr. Heather Barron.<\/p>\n
Barron says boat strikes can damage a turtle\u2019s brain, spinal cord, limbs, and even internal organs.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut one thing is certain,\u201d she said. \u201cThey\u2019re almost all pretty bad in terms of their impact on the animal. And the prognosis for the animal is often quite grave.\u201d <\/p>\n
And during nesting and breeding season those strikes can make an already vulnerable population even more fragile.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf many of the sea turtles that would nest in this area are hit by boats and killed that will be fewer and fewer animals that will ever come back here,\u201d said Barron. <\/p>\n
Andy Dehart is a CEO of Lagerhead marine life center.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re critically affecting these species that come here for this valuable time in their life,\u201d said Dehart. \u201cWe\u2019re a long way from where we used to be where turtles were caught in bycatch and turtles were caught for soup. This isn\u2019t targeted injuries on turtles. It\u2019s just an accident. But what we do hope is that people learn.\u201d<\/p>\n
With Memorial Day and the Fourth of July approaching, he says boaters play a key role in preventing these tragedies.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s very preventable if people just monitor their speed,\u201d said Dehart. \u201cThere\u2019s no set speed limit. We\u2019re not advocating for a set speed limit, but monitor, go safe in that first mile and a half from shore, put on polarized glasses, and if you can, have a spotter.\u201d<\/p>\n
A voluntary sea turtle protection zone remains in place until Oct. 31 and spans all 45 miles of Palm Beach County from shore to one mile out at sea.<\/p>\n
\ud83c\udfe0 News From Your Neighborhood<\/p>\n
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