The Canaveral Port Authority's Light Management Plan was developed in cooperation with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service to mitigate the Port's overall lighting impact, including direct impacts and cumulative glow, on sea-turtle hatchlings on our beaches. For information about the threat posed by artificial lighting to sea turtle hatchlings, visit the website of the Fish and Wildlife Research Institute. Our management plan sets standards for control of existing exterior lighting plus rules for the design of new or replacement site lighting systems.

For all site lighting in new construction and replacement lighting in existing facilities:
1. New (and replacement) exterior lighting must be directed, shielded or positioned so that is not directly visible from the beach, minimizes lateral light spread and does not produce uplighting. Low-pressure sodium lighting should be used where possible.
2. Where applicable, new lighting should be installed with multiple levels of control so that lighting levels can be matched with specific activities.
3. Where lighting is not safety- or security-essential, timers should be installed to switch lights off in the evening.
4. Where applicable and not a threat to security, motion-detector switches may be installed.

For piers and cargo-handling areas: The Plan requires the use of cutoff style fixtures or pole-mounted floodlighting with full visor aiming down, where using this type of lighting does not jeopardize security or safety. Light sources should be metal halide or high-pressure sodium for operations-level lighting and low-pressure sodium, where practical, for security lighting during non-operating hours.

For nighttime operation of cruise terminals, restaurants, offices, etc.: Exterior fixtures should be the cutoff style, with façade, sign and landscape lighting kept to a minimum and at a low elevation with no uplighting. Light sources should be low-pressure sodium where applicable. Only security lighting should be left on when these facilities are not operating.

Tenant Light Management Plans

An individual Light Management Plan must be submitted to the Port Authority for any new construction. This should include lighting plans and specifications plus an evaluation of lighting requirements that considers security needs, worker safety and OSHA requirements. The aim should be to use the best available technology to minimize light pollution to the greatest practical extent. For technical guidance in choosing alternatives that can minimize exterior lighting effects, refer to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection's report, "Understanding, Assessing and Resolving Light-Pollution Problems on Sea Turtle Nesting Beaches." Click here to download this report.