Florida sees record increase in loggerhead turtle nests. How about Sarasota, Manatee?

Melissa Pérez-Carrillo, Sarasota Herald-Tribune
·3 min read
3

Florida set a record for loggerhead turtle nests, but how did Sarasota and Manatee counties fare?

Preliminary data shows there have been 133,414 loggerhead nests in Florida as of Aug. 31, breaking the previous annual record of 122,707 in 2016. Nests are laid seasonally from March to October, and female turtles lay about five to seven nests in a season. The number of hatchlings from one nest could be anywhere from five to 100.

How many loggerhead turtle nests did Sarasota and Manatee counties see this season?

Mote Marine Laboratory's Sea Turtle Conservation and Research Program monitors 35 miles of beaches in Sarasota and Manatee counties daily for new nests. They reported a decrease in nests but an increase in false crawls – when a female turtle crawls on the beach to lay a nest but returns to the water because she was disturbed or couldn’t find a suitable nest site.

In the 2023 season, there were 4,097 nests and 5,653 false crawls, and in the 2022 season, there were 4,373 nests and 4,891 false crawls.

How to find shark teeth? This Florida beach is the 'Shark Tooth Capital' of the world. Here are quick tips to find them

Manatee County also works with Island Turtle Watch to record nest numbers outside of the county-line shared Long Boat Key. Kristen Mazzarella, executive director for Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch, said that she has seen an average number of loggerhead nests this year.

There were 405 total nests – of which 295 hatched – and 439 false crawls.

More than luck? Venice diver who found 6-inch megalodon tooth shares tips on teeth hunting

Light can disorient sea turtles

Mazzarella said a one-to-one ratio of false crawls to nests is considered to be okay, but she’s seen a record number of sea turtle disorientation – when artificial lighting disturbs the ability of nesting females and hatchlings to find the sea from the beach.

Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch has been working with different municipalities to try to resolve the lighting issues that have caused 96 hatchlings disorientations and 10 adult disorientations.

What’s the biggest threat Loggerhead turtles face?

Hatchling disorientation is one of the worst problems that baby sea turtles have, Mazzarella said. For adult sea turtles, boat strikes and entanglement with fishing gear, lines, and nets tend to be the biggest threat.

How can residents keep beaches turtle-friendly?

Here are some tips from Mote Marine to protect sea turtle populations:

  • Stay away from seat turtle nests marked with yellow stakes and tape.

  • Remain quiet and observe from a distance if you encounter a nesting sea turtle or hatchlings.

  • Turn off outdoor lights that are visible on the beach from May through October.

  • Don’t use flashlights, head lamps, or fishing lamps on the beach.

  • Don’t use fireworks on the beach.

How did Hurricane Idalia impact nests?

While the draught hasn’t caused problems with hatchlings, Hurricane Idalia washed out a number of nests in Manatee County, Mazarella said. Of the 405 total nests total for this season, there were 76 on the beach when the storm hit. The group reported that 64 of those nests were washed out.

Turtle eggs can drown with too much water because of the lack of gas exchange from the egg, Mazzarella said. There are also times when the eggs are pulled out into the water and are not viable because the embryo detaches from the yolk sack.

Mazarella added that turtles spread their eggs across time and the beach, so even if a natural storm or disorientation happens, it’s not a total loss for that turtle.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Sarasota, Manatee counties see shift in loggerhead turtle nest count