Living on Anna Maria Island Beachfront? You can help by dimming your lights after dark. It’s the law!
Lights that shine onto a nesting beach at night can draw turtle hatchlings away from the ocean and off the beach, where they have a slim chance of survival. Beach lights can also scare away females crawling ashore to nest.
May 1 to October 31
Not sure if your lights needs to be dimmed?
Question: How can I make sure my water front property or the water front property I am renting is sea turtle friendly?
Answer: Turn on all the lights at night, go down to the water and look back at your property. Can you see the light? So can the sea turtle. Pull the shade, move a lamp, change the fixture or change the bulb and use the information below to find them.
The best information on Sea Turtle and People friendly lighting can be found at:
You are free to buy your own bulbs and fixtures as long as they are FWC certified and listed below.
There is a local store selling Red lights , these lights are listed by FWC and they do certify as turtle friendly be aware they must be installed in a certified fixture (found at the FWC link below). They where manufactured as party lights and do not put out enough light to be safe for Proper illumination in our opinion. We caution you not to use them.
Call us and we will be glad to advise you on turtle lighting at no charge, our goal is to illumine the island in a way that is safe for humans and not disruptive to wildlife.