Hurricane Dorian's pounding surf impacting Florida sea turtles, nests

JUNO BEACH, Fla. — There are concerns along Florida's east coast about sea turtle nests and eggs due to the pounding surf from Hurricane Dorian.

As waves crashed at the Juno Beach Pier on Monday night, WPTV reporter Jon Shainman saw many sea turtle eggs that had been uncovered by the rough seas.

A baby sea turtle was spotted by WPTV's Photojournalist Eric Pasquarelli struggling on the beach near the Juno Beach Pier on Monday.

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Wildlife experts offer these important reminders if you see a sea turtle or disrupted nest:

Eggs

• Sea turtles have a nesting strategy that accommodates for natural events, such as storms. Each nesting female turtle deposits several nests throughout the duration of the nesting season - essentially hedging her bets to make sure that even if a storm hits at some point during the nesting season, there is a high probability that at least a few of the nests will incubate successfully.

• No storm season is a total loss for Florida’s sea turtles. Even in years when Florida sustained direct hits from multiple storms, hatching and emergence success rates were still well within the normal range.

• The public should leave eggs and nests untouched on the beach.

• The public can call FWC (*FWC) if they see exposed nests, but they should NOT collect or touch the eggs.

Washed back hatchlings & post hatchlings:

• Should beach goers come across disoriented sea turtle hatchlings on our local beaches, they should contact FWC (*FWC or 888-404-3922) for guidance as most facilities are closed due to the storms.

• When LMC’s Juno Beach campus reopens, hatchlings can be brought to the Center for drop off at our hatchling drop off area at the front of our Center. Hatchlings are threatened / endangered animals and can be transported in a bucket with damp sand, no water.