Loggerhead Sea Turtles

A sea turtle hatchling made it into Gulf waters last year, which is the first hurdle to clear in a long journey filled with danger as the sand-dollar-sized hatchling grows to weigh 200 pounds or more over the next several decades; baby sea turtles often head to huge piles of sargassum seaweed in the southern Atlantic Ocean where there is plenty for them to eat and a lot of nooks and crannies to hide from predators

Sea turtles set to crawl onto Florida's shores to nest again this summer; conservationists hope hurricanes, predators stay away

Tom Bayles

It's sea turtle nesting season. Dont forget to turn out your lights at night on the beach and stay away from momma sea turtles when they are nesting

Environment

Sea turtle nest counts for 2024: lower numbers for some species, solid, record numbers for others

WGCU Staff

The Florida Fish and Wildlife's Research Bulletin for February reports that 2024 nesting numbers for sea turtles were no surprise, recording lower numbers for some species but also posting solid and record-breaking counts for other species.The counts are the result of the Florida Index Nesting Beach Survey which records sea turtle nest counts on a standardized set of index beaches. Researchers use the annual survey to determine nesting trends.

Baby turtle on Keewaydin Island during 2024 nesting season.

Hurricane Recovery

Conservancy of Southwest Florida wraps sea turtle nesting season; storms had big effect on outcome

WGCU Staff

Turtle nest numbers were steady on Collier County's Keewaydin Island, but several storms disrupted hatchling success by almost half.

Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation staff locate and document a loggerhead sea turtle journey on Sanibel Island beach during a nesting survey in May 2023.

Environment

Sea turtles, a Florida conservation success story, face a new threat

Luena Rodriguez-Feo Vileira

Florida’s sea turtle nests survived an intense hurricane season. But climate change poses an uncertain future for the beloved beach icons.

Thousands of sea turtle nests will hatch in Southwest Florida throughout this summer and fall, so if you see a local beach swarmed with hatchlings turtle scientists say to leave the baby turtles alone, move off the beach, and certainly do not help the animals

Environment

Sea turtles are packing Southwest Florida beaches with nests

Tom Bayles

This year's sea turtle nesting season is going great, with a leatherback on Sanibel and early nesting throughout the region. But few turtle lovers forget last season when early signs were record-breaking but the season's results were heart-breaking

The first sea turtle nest of 2024 Season has been identified on Venice Beach.

Environment

Mote's Sea Turtle Patrol finds first nest of 2024 season -- in Venice

Mote Marine Laboratory

Mote Marine Laboratory’s Sea Turtle Conservation and Research Program (STCRP) documented the first local sea turtle nest of the 2024 season on Sunday, April 28, on Venice Beach. This marks the beginning of a crucial period for sea turtle conservation.

Jim Anholt and Charles LeBuff weighing a post-nesting on Sanibel.

Environment

Hurricane? What Hurricane? Record year for Loggerheads may link to past conservation efforts

Janine Zeitlin

Sea turtle nesting season ended in October and it was a record season for loggerhead sea turtles on Sanibel and Captiva Islands. Going back in history, early conservation efforts seemingly have paid off.

Members of the sea turtle team at the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation analyze the remains in the final hatched nests of the season to assess the health of the sea turtle population on the islands after a record loggerhead nesting season

Environment

Loggerhead sea turtles nested in record numbers the summer after Hurricane Ian

Tom Bayles

The sea turtle nesting season that started just months after Ian hit ended up setting records for loggerhead turtles on Sanibel and Captiva island.

LCSO Deputy Nicholas Velotta worked with the Florida Fish & Wildlife Commission and the Sanibel Captiva Conservation Foundation Saturday afternoon to rescue this injured sea turtle off Fort Myers Beach. The turtle was eventually turned over to Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium for treatment.

Environment

Combined effort helps injured sea turtle on Fort Myers Beach

WGCU Staff

A 300-pound male loggerhead sea turtle discovered in distress on Fort Myers Beach is undergoing treatment after it was rescued Saturday afternoon.

Mahomes, a loggerhead rehabilitated and released by Mote Marine Lab and The Florida Aquarium on Anna Maria Island May 30 2023

Environment

Two sea turtles made ill by red tide toxins, recover and are released into the Gulf of Mexico

Tom Bayles

A pair of sea turtles found dazed and confused by red tide toxins in Sarasota County in February were returned to the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday after being nursed back to health