Sea Turtle Nests At A Record High This Season
The Loggerhead Marinelife Center Officials have spotted a record number of sea turtle nest along Jupiter and Juno Beach this year and the count is expected to continue to grow.
As of the latest count in the beginning of August, there were a total of 19,580 sea turtle nests on the 9.5 miles of Palm Beach County beaches. In 2017, the record was 19,085 and this year we have broken that record. The sea turtle nesting season starts on March 1st through October 31st.
So far, there has been 186 leatherbacks, 13,111 loggerhead nests and 6,283 green sea turtle nests when the latest count was counted. The Loggerhead Marinelife Center’s Facebook page keeps the most accurate and updated count. The current nest totals add up to more than 1.3 million estimated sea turtle hatchlings and predicted a few thousand more nests by the end of the season in October.
The higher sea turtle nests are probably because of the protective measures done to help the sea turtles. Including reducing plastic use, improving the water quality, and assessing habitat loss.
Here are steps you can do to help protect the sea turtle nests:
• Throw away trash and debris left on the beach
• Fill in holes and knock down sandcastles and remove objects that may impacts a turtles path to and from the ocean
• Keep lights off the beach
• Look out for hatchlings on trails and roads
If you find a sea turtle or hatchling along side the road or pathways, contact the Loggerhead Marinelife Center to see how you can help.
For more information, click here.
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