Red Tone Lights Best for Sea Turtles

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Sea Turtle Report 7-2-26

As we prepare to celebrate July 4th and the 250th anniversary of America’s Independence, we symbolize our celebration with the colors red, white and blue! Red stands for courage, blue for perseverance, and white for innocence.

Sea Turtles have shown great resilience and survived for over 100 million years. We can also attribute the color red for their instinct to survive, blue for navigating a harsh ocean environment, and white for their calm and gentle nature.

In terms of their preferred color choices, according to experts, the best color light for sea turtles is red. It is deemed the least disruptive to their natural nesting and hatching behavior. Reds are less likely to disorient hatchlings away from the ocean or deter females from coming ashore to nest. FWC also recommends using bulbs or lamps that produce only long-wave light (560 nanometers or greater), which is red, amber, or orange.

Here on Marco Island, we have a Sea Turtle Lighting Protection Ordinance which is intended to provide additional protection to sea turtles and designed to minimize the impact of artificial lighting on them. The ordinance also incorporates the FWC’s recommendations on lighting for both indoors and outdoors.

During the nesting season, Marco Island is vigilant in enforcing beachfront lighting compliance. The following list of nine sea turtle protection violations is scheduled to be heard by the Code Enforcement Magistrate on June 30, 2026.