PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — Researchers at Loggerhead Marinelife Center (LMC) are predicting a potentially record-breaking amount of sea turtle nests for this year.
Loggerhead and green sea turtles are having the strongest start in nest monitoring history throughout the state of Florida, according to the center.
Beaches in Juno, Jupiter-Carlin Park, and Tequesta have been recording about 1,000 sea turtle nests, every three days. across the 9.5-mile stretch of beach, and on June 30, a record 575 nests were documented in a single day, LMC said.
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“We are observing nesting numbers in amounts never seen before,” said Dr. Justin Perrault, vice president of research at Loggerhead Marinelife Center. “We are currently up to 17,138 nests and are on par to break the 20,000 mark.”
This year, nesting monitors have recorded twice as many green sea turtle nests compared to 2022, LMC said. Last year, LMC documented 18,132 sea turtle nests: 282 from leatherbacks, 13,205 from loggerheads, and 4,645 from greens. So far this season, LMC has documented 17,138 nests: 208 from leatherbacks, 12,379 from loggerheads, and 4,551 from green turtles.
The center’s researchers believe the increased nesting rate could be attributed to the successful conservation efforts throughout the last few decades, with sea turtles returning to their native, regional beaches to lay their nests 20 to 30 years after hatching.
In April, WPTV anchor Ashleigh Walters reported on a leatherback sea turtle that had returned to a South Florida Beach.
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In that report, Sea Turtle Conservancy's Senior Research Biologist Dr. Daniel R. Evans said sea turtles have an internal compass that brings them back to the same beach every two or three years to lay eggs. It’s often the same beach, where they hatched decades prior.
“What we see in sea turtles is that they actually follow the same tracks in where they nest and where they find food," he said.
To continue the positive conservation efforts, LMC is urging beach goers if they see a sea turtle or nest, do not approach or touch, or remove hatchlings and nests from the beach and fill in all holes and knock over sandcastles to prevent nesting turtles and hatchlings from falling into them or being hindered as they crawl on the beach.
Sea turtle nesting season on Florida’s East Coast begins on March 1 and ends on October 31.
If you see a sea turtle in distress, call the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission at 1-888-404-FWCC.
