JUPITER, Fla. — A weekly beach dance gathering in Jupiter is making changes after pushback from sea turtle conservationists during peak nesting season.
Happy Beach Dancing holds weekly gatherings at Beach Access 55 in Jupiter, where members come together to dance and decompress. The group has faced criticism from the Loggerhead Marine Life Center, which says the area is one of the densest nesting sites for sea turtles in the entire world.
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The center says nighttime activity at the site poses a serious risk to nesting turtles.
"Any nighttime activity is going to potentially interrupt these behaviors that can cause turtles to not emerge because there are large gatherings, because there's artificial lighting," a Loggerhead Marine Life Center representative said.
Some Happy Beach Dancing regulars say the group's impact is minimal and that members are cautious when they dance on the beach. Dr. Kelly Easterling said the focus should be on a larger threat to sea turtles.
"Why aren't people talking about the real problem? Not little kids and people with disabilities and some kind senior citizens in a very small group experiencing joy," Easterling said.
Saturday's gathering led to a direct exchange between dancers and conservationists who showed up on behalf of the sea turtles.
"It's not a safe place for them," one conservationist said. "I feel like it's our responsibility to protect the turtles. They're an endangered species. They don't have a voice. I do."
By the end of the night, Happy Beach Dancing organizers announced they would no longer bring lights to the beach and will wrap up gatherings by 8:45 p.m. during sea turtle nesting season out of respect for the animals. Saturday's event ended in line with that commitment.
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