This summer, South and Central Florida beaches have been plagues by what University of South Florida scientists say is a record amount of sargassum seaweed. The thick and wide band of seaweed is posing a threat to sea turtle hatchlings that emerge from their nests after nearly two months underground and immediately scramble toward the sea. Many of the hatchlings become ensnared in the seaweed causing them to give up. This leaves them at the mercy of the sun's heat, birds, crabs, dogs and beach combing equipment.

Some good samaritans have been helping the sea turtle hatchlings by carrying them over the sargassum seaweed and placing them into the water or allowing them to crawl their own way on the sand into the ocean. This activity is not without risk. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) regulations prohibit people who are not trained to handle the hatchlings to give them aid. Robbin N. Trindell, Ph.D., the FWC's Biological Administrator, said in an email earlier this week: "Only an FWC-authorized Marine Turtle Permit Holder is allowed to conduct the surveys to check for hatchlings in the wrack. Marine Turtle Permit Holders have been trained to do this work, including to handle and assess the hatchlings and determine the appropriate response."

"The Marine Turtle Permit Holder authorized by FWC to survey the beach, identify turtle nests, and mark nests in beach cleaning areas is also required to check the beach and wrack line for hatchlings," Trindell added. "Under the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) permit for beach cleaning, no work on the beach can commence until all sea turtle protection work is completed."

The FWC asks that anyone who finds a sea turtle hatchling in distress calls *FWC for guidance. Note: The woman seen freeing sea turtle hatchlings in this video is a trained permit holder.

Scientists blame the sargassum mega bloom on climate-change driven ocean warming and too much fertilizer and other nutrients running off into the ocean from land. Good samaritans helping the sea turtles wonder if the rules regarding assisting sea turtle hatchlings will have to be rewritten considering the new threat posed by sargassum seaweed.