IMPACT OF ARTIFICIAL LIGHTS

Hatchling leatherbacks emerge from nests buried deep in the sand at night time and find the sea by crawling towards the brightest horizon.  The glare from artificial lighting near Las Baulas National Park disrupts the ability of hatchling leatherbacks to find the sea . 

Hatchling leatherbacks from Las Baulas National Park have been found wandering in the wrong direction. Some hatchlings have been found on land crawling away from the sea rather than towards it, and others have been found washed up dead on Tamarindo Beach, presumably after they hatched on Playa Grande and then swam towards the lights of Tamarindo.

In contrast to the hatchlings that are attracted to lights, adult leatherbacks are deterred by lights.  Female leatherbacks crawl up on beaches to lay their eggs and prefer to do so on dark beaches.  Scientists studying leatherback behavior at Las Baulas National Park have documented a pattern between the location of lights and the place where the female leatherbacks lay their eggs: where lights are present, there are no, or very few, leatherbacks nesting.  

The solutions to reducing and minimizing lights are simple.  Many coastal communities adjacent to sea turtle nesting beaches have successfully reduced their lights to help their sea turtles.