• Lights out: The Town of HHI requires all indoor and outdoor light fixtures that are visible from the beach to be shielded so the bulbs are not visible or turned off between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. during sea turtle nesting season from May 1 – October 31.
• Keep the beach clean: Never leave beach umbrellas, chairs, beach accessories on the beach overnight. Nesting female turtles may get tangled in them, and for hatchlings, they are often impassable and disorienting. Place all trash and recyclables in the appropriate receptacles.
• Fill in holes: Baby turtles often fall into the holes left on the beach and get disoriented and fall to prey.
• Observe from a distance: Use a zoom lens and do not shine lights near the nests.
• Don’t harass: Don’t pick up a baby turtle to “help it” on its journey to the water.
• Leave nest sites alone: Do not disturb sea turtle nest markers. Obey these signs and please stay out of marked areas.
• Sea Turtle Patrol Awareness Flyer: Click here to view/print

To report light violation contact Town of HHI Code Enforcement Officers Weekdays: Wendy Conant at 843-341-4643 or Todd McNeill at 843-341-4642.

To report dead, injured or harassed turtles contact the SC Department of Natural Resources hotline at 1-800-922-5431, day or night and weekends.