Sea Turtle-Friendly Lighting

The following is a sponsored review.

I've actually learned something as I'm conducting research for this product review. I guess I never knew much about sea turtles until today. These creatures are on the brink of extinction, and to make matters worse, only 1 out of 1000 hatchlings reach maturity. This is incredible: Sea turtles have been around since the age of the dinosaur: 60 millions years.

Miami-Dade receives these sea turtles as visitors each summer; in fact, Florida has the "largest gathering of sea turtles" in the US. That means we need to take care of them. Part of that means that you should never approach turtles in the sea or in the nest.

It also means that if you have a residence near the water, you should consider (or may be required to have) special "turtle-friendly lighting". Normal artificial lights are dangerous for sea turtles. They are attracted to the light as if it were the moon, and it will lead them off-course and away from the sea. This makes the sea turtles more vulnerable to predators, exhaustion, or automobile deaths.

So where do you find lighting that is much safer for sea turtles? I'm glad you asked! Starry Night Lights has an entire line of turtle-friendly outdoor lighting solutions. Says the website:

ALL of the fixtures offered by Starry Night Lights are Turtle Friendly. If you need to comply with turtle lighting codes in your area every outdoor light we sell should work. However, the thing that is special about the full cutoff lights featured in this section is that they may be combined with special monochromatic turtle safe lamps manufactured by Turtle Safe Lighting, LLC for the ultimate in turtle friendly lighting. The combination of full cutoff optics and monochromatic light output has been proven to be the least disruptive outdoor lighting solution for sensitive turtle breeding areas and have been approved by the Florida Fish & Wildlife Service.

More sea turtle resources:

Sea Turtle Preservation Society (Brevard)

Miami Dade Sea Turtle Nesting & Relocation Program

Wikipedia: Sea Turtle

Broward County: Sea Turtles & Lights

Sponsor Links: Starry Night Lights & Turtle Friendly Outdoor Lighting

Comments

[Jim Harper]

Here's my article about sea turtle conservation in S. Florida. As usual, Miami is behind the times.

[Lorinda Walters Flores]

I am pleased to inform you that Phoenix Products carries several lighting products that meet requirments of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission for being Turtle-Friendly. Our products feature marine-grade, low copper content aluminum housings and are built to endure marine environments. Visit our website today for more information.