The 2024 sea turtle nesting season is in full swing and the state says the season is looking pretty good so far.
As of May the 31st there have been over 27 thousand loggerhead nests found statewide, down from about 37 thousand last year.
There have also been over 1400 Leatherback nests found on Florida beaches – that’s up from about 1300 last year.
Turtle watchers have also confirmed 13 Kemp’s Ridley Sea turtle nests, and 60 green turtle nests.
The number of green turtle nests is down substantially from 2023, when researchers had found nearly 2300 of their nests by May 31st.
The FWC said that is not unexpected, because 2023 was a record shattering year for green turtle nests when they found over 77 thousand nests through the season.
Local beaches are popular spots for sea turtle nesting and you can help make sure the season is successful.
If you’d like to help sea turtles, The easiest thing to do is make sure the beaches are kept clean, flat and dark throughout the sea turtle nesting season which runs through October 30th.
You can also help by not using bright lights on the beaches at night – man made lights tend to disorient the turtles and keep them from nesting.
You can buy turtle safe flashlights for your nighttime walks – they are available at the Apalachicola National Estuarine Research reserve on Island Drive in Eastpoint and at the state park on St. George Island.
You can also purchase them at the lighthouse gift shop on St. George Island.
As of May the 31st there have been over 27 thousand loggerhead nests found statewide, down from about 37 thousand last year.
There have also been over 1400 Leatherback nests found on Florida beaches – that’s up from about 1300 last year.
Turtle watchers have also confirmed 13 Kemp’s Ridley Sea turtle nests, and 60 green turtle nests.
The number of green turtle nests is down substantially from 2023, when researchers had found nearly 2300 of their nests by May 31st.
The FWC said that is not unexpected, because 2023 was a record shattering year for green turtle nests when they found over 77 thousand nests through the season.
Local beaches are popular spots for sea turtle nesting and you can help make sure the season is successful.
If you’d like to help sea turtles, The easiest thing to do is make sure the beaches are kept clean, flat and dark throughout the sea turtle nesting season which runs through October 30th.
You can also help by not using bright lights on the beaches at night – man made lights tend to disorient the turtles and keep them from nesting.
You can buy turtle safe flashlights for your nighttime walks – they are available at the Apalachicola National Estuarine Research reserve on Island Drive in Eastpoint and at the state park on St. George Island.
You can also purchase them at the lighthouse gift shop on St. George Island.
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