JUPITER, Fla. — Weekend beach dance parties will continue at Jupiter's sea turtle nesting area with lighting adjustments.
The Town of Jupiter convened a meeting Wednesday afternoon at the police department, bringing together local, county, and state stakeholders along with representatives from Loggerhead Marinelife Center to address concerns about weekend beach dance parties held where sea turtles nest.
The meeting lasted about an hour and a half. Afterward, representatives from the dance group said the gathering was productive and that the parties will continue with some adjustments.
"We're going to continue, just a couple of adjustments. We loved everyone there. It was very friendly. Beautiful," Foreli of Happy Beach Dancing said.
The adjustments center on reducing the amount of lighting used during the events to avoid disturbing nesting sea turtles. There had been calls from some to move the dancing away from the area entirely during nesting season.
The group said they will be at Beach Access 55 again this Saturday.
The Town of Jupiter sent WPTV this statement:
This afternoon, the Town of Jupiter facilitated a meeting that included the organizers of the weekend dance events, the Loggerhead Marinelife Center (LMC), Ocean Walk Property Owners Association, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), Palm Beach County Environmental Resources Management, Palm Beach County Parks and Recreation, and the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office.
During the meeting, experts from LMC and FWC shared the impacts that nighttime events can have on sea turtles, and the various stakeholders discussed solutions to limit these impacts should the events continue.
After agreeing to reduce the amount of lighting used, the event organizers have indicated that they will proceed with the events.
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