What’s Out There?

When you come to beautiful Juno Beach to ride the waves, you should know that you’ve entered a new neighborhood.

All kinds of fish, turtles, crabs, manatee, dolphins, sharks and more call these waters home. Let me show you some of my faves!

Loggerhead Turtles

The Treasure of the Gold Coast Marine Life

Loggerhead Turtle Marine Life Center in Juno Beach

This facility in Juno Beach tracks, protects and cares for sick or injured Loggerhead Turtles and their hatchlings throughout the year. Currently, there are more than 1400 Loggerhead nests in the Jupiter/Juno Beach Area. When I was walking the beach yesterday, I could see where nests were marked and some eggs had already been snatched and eaten by hawks and ravens who left the shells behind. The hatchlings who make it will trek to the sea starting in August.

A Logger.jpg — VIP Sea Life

The Loggerhead is the largest of all hard shell turtles and is given its name because of its large head and strong jaw. It is a “keystone species,” meaning that other animals in its ecosystem depend on it for survival. These turtles feed on invertebrates, whose shells pass through their digestive systems and, upon excretion, fall back to the bottom of the ocean for other animals to eat as a calcium source. Predators also rely on loggerhead hatchlings for food, while more than a hundred species of animals—including barnacles, crabs, and algae—live on their shells.

Sea Manatee

My friend Shai loves to fish. He was fishing off the pier at Juno Beach when he saw these manatee! He said the pics don’t capture how massive they are. Manatee are usually 9-10 feet long and weigh more than 1000 pounds. Some, like these, are even bigger! They’re more common to see in the winter months, like these were. Shai took this picture in February 2021. If you’d been in the water that day, these would have been riding the waves with you!

Big Fish Anxiety

Manatee and Dolphins will often delight beach goers but not everyone is happy to see these locals unless they have a fishing pole.

Dolphin Fish

Not to be confused with an actual Dolphin, these fish are flat faced and considered a good catch from the pier! The can weigh up to 50 pounds and in a restaurant are often called Mahi Mahi (its Hawaiian name) so people don’t think they are eating dolphin.

Sailfish

Sailfish stand out because of their long bill and bright colored… they can swim up to 70 miles per hour and considered the fastest fish in the ocean. They stay close to the surface and kill their prey with by stunning them with their bill.

Tuna

These fish are all over southeast Florida and commonly caught weighing between 30 and 50 pounds; some are as big as 90 pounds! Typically, they’re in deeper water but they can be near the shore.

Shark Week = Every Week

It’s not a special event to see sharks in the waters of SE Florida. It’s why we always swim where there life guards and al ot of people around.

Lemon Shark☣

The lemon shark is considered a near-threatened species by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. Lemon sharks can grow to 3.4 meters in length. They eat a lot of fish, rays, crustaceans, seabirds and even other sharks.

Hammer head Shark☢

The hammerhead sharks stand out because of the unusual and distinctive structure of their heads, which are flattened and extended into a "hammer" shape called a cephalofoil. The life span of a hammer head shark is 44 years.

Tiger Shark⚠

A tiger shark would be daunting to see in the water. They can grow quite large, some bigger than 16 feet long, making it one of the largest species of sharks. It’s considered a macropredator and can be found in SE Florida and other tropical and temperate waters.

Bottle Nose Dolphins

In May, Shai and I were swimming at Juno Beach and some beach goers called out that we were swimming with dolphins! We didn’t see them but they were, apparently, close. Bottle Nose Dolphins are common here and while they’re fairly friendly and stay away from humans they can still be intimidating to see at 6’ long and 300 pounds!

You might want to stay out of the water when these unfriendly pests have come to visit…

Portuguese Man O’ War

We’ve seen these along the beach and washed up on the shore many times. Lifeguards have told us they are more common when we have southeasterly winds. They look so small and harmless but their sting can be excrutiating. They have long tentacles - usually 30 feet or so - that are covered with cysts designed to sting and kill their prey. They leave red welts on humans and are still powerful and capable of causing real pain even when they’ve been on the beach for days. You want to stay away from these also called bluebottles because of their shape and color.

Moon Jellyfish

These jellyfish are common in the warmer, summer months along the coast of Florida. They can be hard to spot and you might not see any one minute and then see a string of them the next. These hurt but - according to Florida Parks and Rec- aren’t nearly as painful as the Portuguese Man O’ War. Still, no one wants to get stung while in playing in the water. If you do get stung it’s best to try warm water, cortisone and rest.

Beach FLags.JPG — Here’s your sign:
Purple means Marine Pests; Double Red means sharks and stay out of the water

That’s it for now. I hope you have fun at the beach, see some amazing marine life and if you see the purple flag, remember to check in at the guard stand to find out what marine life you might be swimming with today!

Beach Day

Every Day