Sea turtle nesting beaches require protection from light pollution, beach disturbance and sand compaction to enable successful nesting and hatchling emergence with minimal welfare harm.
Sea turtle nesting welfare involves both the individual welfare of nesting females navigating human-modified beaches and the welfare of hatchlings making the dangerous journey from nest to ocean. Light pollution disorientation causes females to abort nesting attempts or deposit eggs in suboptimal locations, and causes hatchlings to move toward lights rather than the sea, exhausting themselves on land or entering roads. Nest protection through predator management, lighting ordinances and beach access restrictions during nesting season directly protects individual turtle welfare. The thermal welfare implications of climate warming for nest temperatures and sex ratio skewing represent a systemic threat requiring both local nesting habitat management and global climate mitigation.