Holes a Safety Hazard for Sea Turtles and People

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Sea Turtle Report 07-03-25

Several coastal cities in Florida have adopted “no holes on the beach” ordinances. Most recently, Holmes Beach has already passed one such ban, and Anna Maria Island (Manatee County) is in the process of making it safer for beachgoers and newly hatched turtles to navigate the beach. According to these ordinances, holes dug on the beach should not go deeper than one foot below the surrounding sand.

The solution taken by these coastal cities is an ordinance that bans the use of metal shovels other than “kid’s type plastic shovels” from being used by the beachgoing public and limits the depth of holes dug. Kristen Mazzarella, Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch representatives stated, “adults (sea turtles) are at risk of falling into large holes, and when they do, they might struggle to climb out. As for the baby turtles (hatchlings) heading to the ocean, they can fall into these same holes and are too tiny to escape.”

Their ordinances regarding digging holes also stated, “No person shall possess on or about the sandy Gulf beach a metal shovel of the type customarily sold in hardware stores – not a children’s toy,” and “no person shall dig a hole in the sandy Gulf beach deeper than one foot below surrounding grade unless part of a construction project permitted under the Florida Building Code or similar law.”

On Marco Island, holes on the beach of varying depth and width have become the norm. But sometimes these holes are over six feet deep. It is a safety issue even for humans, and it is not about prohibiting kids and adults from having fun digging holes. When left unfilled, it is up to beach vendors in the morning to fill these holes, along with Marco’s Code Enforcement Officers.

Just last weekend, an adult female loggerhead came ashore looking for a nesting site at the southern end of Sand Dollar Island. Imagine a scenario where she might have fallen into one of these deep holes and sustained irreparable injuries. Also, hatchlings will soon be emerging from their nests and will head to the water. Holes of any size are a potential death trap as they scamper to reach the water.