Sea turtle nesting season is in full swing, which means the Turtle Tuesday Beach Cleanup is back for it's 7th year! During nesting season thousands of loggerhead, leatherback, and green sea turtles come ashore to nest on our beaches. Palm Beach County has more sea turtle nests per mile than anywhere else in the United States! Approximately 2,000,000 sea turtles hatch on our beaches every year.
Yesterday volunteers hit the beach on Palm Beach Island and removed several bags full of plastic and debris. Did you know that 6 out of the 7 species of marine turtles are threatened with extinction, and the seventh is listed as data deficient? Plastic pollution is one of the major threats to sea turtles. In fact, one sea turtle out of two has ingested plastic - often mistaking it for food such as jellyfish. Participating in beach cleanups, like Turtle Tuesday, is a great way to spread awareness and remove plastic and debris from our beaches.
The Turtle Tuesday Beach Cleanups are presented by the Worth Avenue Association and sponsored by the Loggerhead Marinelife Center. They are held the second Tuesday of June, July, September and October. Click here to join us for the next one on July 9th!
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