This week the residents of Dauphin Island have proceeded with the removal of foxes along their shores. This is a discussion that has been in the Gulf Shores and Orange beach news for decades. The main players in the argument are those who want to protect turtle nest and those who want to let nature decide the path. This time the turtle nesters won.

This comes after the Town of Dauphin Island voted to move forward with the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, which is part of the Department of Agriculture, to prevent invasive animals like foxes from destroying protected wildlife.

Dauphin Island Mayor Jeff Collier said they want to be proactive in keeping other species safe. He and the city administration have contracted with a branch of federal government to manage the removal.

“Alabama Audubon, U.S. Fish and Wildlife, and other agencies have spent probably the last several years doing collecting a lot of data doing a lot of research in that area and also trying different tactics if you will like taste aversion techniques,” Collier said. “Also fencing around active turtle and bird nest to try to defend against predators, and unfortunately, those tactics did not work very well and so going on for several years now and again the ultimate goal is to get to a point where turtles and in birds can both nest and be more successful, going forward and raising their hatchlings.”

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The most dangerous animal to a sea turtle is not a human or a fox, it is a shark. According to "Sea Turtle Status" organization, Once the hatchlings make it to the water they are often eaten by birds, large fish and sharks. They pointed out that overfishing of sharks around the world have led to an abundance in sea turtle hatchling survival flourishing.

Tiger sharks certainly play an important role in regulating turtle populations. Overfishing of sharks in the Pacific, for instance, along with diminished human take of turtles over decades, is likely one of the factors behind the rise in Hawaiian green turtle numbers in recent decades.

The dilemma will continue and will surely be a conflict on this side of the bay in the future. In the 80's the subject was often a top headline for local news outlets.