Sea Turtle Oversight Protection

Sea Turtle Oversight Protection (STOP) nighttime survey volunteers monitor sea turtle nests in Broward County. STOP counts the number of hatchlings that emerge from each nest in real-time on the beach as it happens.This requires manymonths oflong nights onthe beach. Hatchlings that go east to the ocean are left alone. Hatchlings that disorient to lights are documented andrecovered in buckets. Rescued hatchlings are released into the sea or taken to Gumbo LimboNature Center in Boca Raton.We do this as volunteers. Over the past 7 years, STOP volunteers documented over 82,000 hatchlings that disoriented to lights in Broward County.Sadly, weonly had enough volunteers to monitor 40% of the total nests. Imagine how many were missed... STOP has rescued and documented over 50,000 hatchlings in the last 2 years alone.