Miami-Beach-Prepares-the-Community-for-Sea-Turtle-Season-1
City of Miami Beach, 1700 Convention Center Drive, Miami Beach, FL 33139, www.miamibeachfl.gov
OFFICE OF MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS, Tel: 305.673.7575 PRESS RELEASE
Tonya Daniels, E-mail: tonyadaniels@miamibeachfl.gov
Melissa Berthier, E-mail: melissaberthier@miamibeachfl.gov
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 11, 2018
City of Miami Beach is Ready for Sea Turtle Nesting Season
— Encouraging Residents and Visitors to #MBShareTheShore —
Miami Beach, FL – Every year from April to October, gentle giants come to our seven-miles of
beach to lay their nests. During this time period, the City welcomes loggerhead, leatherback and
green sea turtles to nest on the shoreline of our coastal community.
“The shoreline of our very own beaches marks the beginning of their long journey to adulthood,”
noted Commissioner John Elizabeth Alemán. “Recognizing their vulnerability as newborn turtles
and endangered species, we’re committed to doing everything in our power to protect them
through advocacy, policy and most importantly – education.”
To safeguard these baby hatchlings as they begin their journey to sea, the City of Miami Beach
has held workshops to engage the public and is launching a marketing campaign targeting our
residents, businesses and global visitors. Through social media and a prominent advertising
campaign, the City is educating these parties that sea turtle nesting season has begun. The
campaign educates beachgoers and beachfront properties with tips to keep nests safe. These
guidelines include not touching nests or hatchlings; minimizing artificial light; removing beach
furniture, umbrellas and other potential obstacles after a day at the beach; and being an
advocate for these little ones by spreading the word to neighbors and friends and reporting nest
disturbances to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC).
Education and building awareness is only one aspect of the City’s program. City staff is to
prioritize lighting retrofit and enforcement efforts in areas that will have the greatest impact. In
Lummus park for example, the lights have been retrofitted with fixtures that emit less spill over
light and have a dimming feature to limit visibility from the sand. Lighting fixtures in other
beachfront parks are being retrofitted to shield the sides that are visible from the beach. Code
Compliance has been conducting pro-active inspections to ensure private properties are in
compliance with the City Code.
Help in continuing the turtle talk. See attached marketing collateral here. For more information,
visit www.mbrisingabove.com/seaturtles.
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