Sea turtle nesting season has a start date, but the egg-laden mamas never pay attention.
Volunteers with Sarasota’s Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium found the first nest reported this year Tuesday on Casey Key, which is two weeks before somebody official, at some point, determined the popular creatures should start nesting on May 1.
"Sea turtles don't necessary stick to the calendar, so we typically start patrolling a few weeks before the official season,” said Melissa Macksey, a senior biologist with Mote’s Sea Turtle Conservation and Research Program. “Today marks the earliest documented nest in our program’s history, which might mean we’re in for a busy season.”
The first nest was laid by a loggerhead sea turtle, a threatened species protected under federal law. Loggerheads are the most common species to nest on Southwest Florida beaches, followed by endangered green sea turtles.
In recent years, several endangered Kemp’s ridley sea turtles, which are among the smallest and rarest, have nested in Sarasota County’s shoreline.
In 2021, Florida had a record-breaking sea turtle nesting season, with over 103,000 green turtle nests and over 12,000 loggerhead turtle nests recorded.
The number of sea turtle nests in Florida has been steadily increasing since the 1980s, which is attributed to conservation efforts such as restrictions on beach lighting, which can make the turtles crawl toward the light and away from the ocean, and the use of turtle-friendly fishing gear.
Even with the laws in place and the permitted sea turtle volunteers walking the nesting beaches around the state, only about 1-in-1,000 hatchlings survive to adulthood.
Many are scooped up by birds and other predators during the long crawl from the sandy nests to the waterline, while others who make it to the ocean become prey when they are still small.
The massive amount of sargassum floating from the Atlantic Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico has made international news during recent weeks because of the algae’s potential to ruin a beach town’s tourism economy should the brown mass wash ashore and start stinking like rotten eggs.
To sea turtle hatchlings the sargassum is more akin to caviar, a smorgasbord of seaweed, seagrases, algae, and microfauna.
Normally, the algae loops around in huge circular currents in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, aptly name the Sargasso Sea, where sea turtles and many other smaller creatures find a home, food, and protection from the elements and predators.
Researchers have spent years documenting the importance of the environment created by the brown algae to the survival of green turtles and loggerheads, among other species.
Mote's Sea Turtle Conservation & Research Program has found nest numbers have increased on local beaches, with several record-breaking years in the past decade. In 2022, Mote reported 4,483 nests on Longboat Key through Venice.
Mote posts weekly statistics about sea turtle nesting online, including the results of the 2021 nesting season. The agency has posted a video highlighting sea turtles and Mote’s programs to help the animal's numbers recover, as well as information about how they track sea turtles worldwide.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission also has posted a huge collection of real-time and historical sea turtle nesting information.
"We know sea turtle nesting season is underway,” Mote’s Macksey said. “We strongly urge beachgoers to enjoy our beautiful beaches while making sure we do our part for these sea turtles that are endangered and threatened species that have been nesting here for millions of years.”
Environmental reporting for WGCU is funded in part by VoLo Foundation, a non-profit with a mission to accelerate change and global impact by supporting science-based climate solutions, enhancing education, and improving health.
Sign up for WGCU's monthly environmental newsletter, the Green Flash, today.
WGCU is your trusted source for news and information in Southwest Florida. We are a nonprofit public service, and your support is more critical than ever. Keep public media strong and donate now. Thank you.