WUFT | News and public media for north central Florida
High sea turtle nesting season expected, but experts warn the species is not out of danger
By Kate Becker
April 23, 2025 at 4:00 AM EDT
Leatherback turtles are expected to have another high nesting season, setting a record for the earliest nest recorded in Florida on Feb. 16.
While sea turtle population numbers seem to be steadying as a whole, experts say this does not necessarily mean they have been saved from endangerment. They warn that the current high nesting numbers are not the result of recent efforts to save turtles but from the work of decades ago.
“Yes, we are seeing nesting numbers in Florida increase,” said David Godfrey, director of the Sea Turtle Conservancy.
But he stresses that while there is an increase “all these new threats that are affecting turtles are going to be interfering with our ability to continue to recover them.”
The Sea Turtle Conservancy places trackers on turtles toward the end of the nesting season. The organization carries out science in the field studying nesting and threats to sea turtles and uses the information to educate the public and raise awareness.
Sea turtle nesting season is from March to July, with leatherbacks already showing significant nesting numbers.
The Ecological Associates Inc. is an environmental consulting firm whose coastal species department monitors sea turtle nesting and shorebirds. The firm has recorded 205 nests so far along five east coast counties.
“We have been seeing increased leatherback activity in multiple counties that we survey so we do have hopes and think it's probably going to be a high leatherback year,” said Lauren Maline, a biologist and outreach coordinator.
The sea turtles they and other organizations see nesting this season aren't necessarily the same turtles seen nesting in the last few years. Sea turtles do not nest annually but have an interval nesting pattern, laying eggs every few years.
This is why Ecological Associates Inc. focuses on nesting trends, looking at data for the last five to 10 years, for a true understanding of the stability of sea turtles.
Costanza Manes measures a loggerhead turtle while working with the Sea Turtle Conservancy on an in-water research program studying water quality and the health of sea turtles in the Gulf. (Courtesy of the Sea Turtle Conservancy) (6048x4024, AR: 1.502982107355865)
“Most of the leatherback trends have been pretty steady,” Maline said. “We have seen some dips in previous years, but overall the trends are pretty positive. Even statewide follows that trend that they are steady right now.”
Sea turtles do not reach maturity until around 25 to 30 years of age. This means it takes a full 30 years before those sea turtles will nest and the impacts of past events on their populations are witnessed.
In 1973, the Endangered Species Act was passed, and leatherbacks along with other sea turtles were given a chance to recover from being hunted.
Godfrey said the current numbers on nesting beaches is a result of the changes that took place following the passage of the Endangered Species Act.
“Prior to the Endangered Species Act, sea turtles were on the menu,” Godfrey said.
This means that the current situation for turtles is not reflective of the work his conservancy and other organizations across Florida are doing.
“We are seeing the effects now of that being put into place,” Maline said.
Maline’s department conducts lighting surveys at night, and she says that beachfront lighting is a huge issue for nesting sea turtles and hatchlings. Traditional lighting causes small hatchlings to become distressed. This puts them at risk to predators or burning up from the sun in the morning.
“On a natural dark beach, the brightest horizon is always in the direction of the sea,” Godfrey said. “When you have an artificially lit up beach, they go the wrong way.”
After the BP oil spill in 2010, in which 210 million gallons of oil leaked into the Gulf, the companies involved had to pay billions of dollars in fines to restore the damage. Money was allocated to do good things for turtles after that; Godfrey said the Sea Turtle Conservancy is still using money from that spill.
The conservancy also works to improve beachfront lighting conditions, using the money to help cover the cost to owners of beachfront property improvements to make their lighting more turtle-friendly.
Godfrey said that the impacts from this have been “not just positive, incredible.”
“It compounds,” Godfrey said. “You fix the lights on a big condo and every season after that there are no disorientations.”
Maline stressed the importance of individuals taking steps to ensure they don’t impact turtles any further. Keeping the beach dark, flat and clean supports the turtles during nesting.
The conservancy also works to monitor legislation that could impact turtles, collecting important nesting data and conducting international studies on sea turtles. But he stresses that besides beachfront lighting, these things don't show immediate results on population.
“We won't see the fruits of that for decades,” he said.
And while his organization and others throughout the state will continue working to improve sea turtle conditions, the species are facing extremely dangerous issues of rising ocean temperatures, beach development, and plastic pollution. These issues, which will show up decades later in population numbers, threaten the effectiveness of improvements.
Rising temperatures have been showing impacts on the sex of turtles, producing more females in incubation. In the long term, Godfrey says this could become an issue.
Plastic pollution is affecting turtles at rates Godfrey said he can’t confidently tell.
“Turtles eat it because they think it's food,” he said. “Little hatchlings that have been out in the water for a little while wash back from the sea, dead.”
Beach erosion has caused people to resort to sea walls to protect their property. This prevents turtles from being able to adapt to changing beaches. Building extremely close to the waterline on beaches that are eroding prevents turtles from adapting to the ebb and flow of a changing beach landscape.
“It completely blocks turtles from reaching suitable nesting habitat,” Godfrey said.
The Trump administration is proposing a change to the Endangered Species Act to redefine the word “harm.” This would make it harder to prevent development of crucial habitat, as it's not directly harming the animal dependent on it itself.
If the changes are approved, it could create significant issues for sea turtles in Florida that depend on safe, undeveloped beaches to nest.
While sea turtle population numbers seem to be steadying as a whole, experts say this does not necessarily mean they have been saved from endangerment. They warn that the current high nesting numbers are not the result of recent efforts to save turtles but from the work of decades ago.
“Yes, we are seeing nesting numbers in Florida increase,” said David Godfrey, director of the Sea Turtle Conservancy.
But he stresses that while there is an increase “all these new threats that are affecting turtles are going to be interfering with our ability to continue to recover them.”
The Sea Turtle Conservancy places trackers on turtles toward the end of the nesting season. The organization carries out science in the field studying nesting and threats to sea turtles and uses the information to educate the public and raise awareness.
Sea turtle nesting season is from March to July, with leatherbacks already showing significant nesting numbers.
The Ecological Associates Inc. is an environmental consulting firm whose coastal species department monitors sea turtle nesting and shorebirds. The firm has recorded 205 nests so far along five east coast counties.
“We have been seeing increased leatherback activity in multiple counties that we survey so we do have hopes and think it's probably going to be a high leatherback year,” said Lauren Maline, a biologist and outreach coordinator.
The sea turtles they and other organizations see nesting this season aren't necessarily the same turtles seen nesting in the last few years. Sea turtles do not nest annually but have an interval nesting pattern, laying eggs every few years.
This is why Ecological Associates Inc. focuses on nesting trends, looking at data for the last five to 10 years, for a true understanding of the stability of sea turtles.
Costanza Manes measures a loggerhead turtle while working with the Sea Turtle Conservancy on an in-water research program studying water quality and the health of sea turtles in the Gulf. (Courtesy of the Sea Turtle Conservancy) (6048x4024, AR: 1.502982107355865)
“Most of the leatherback trends have been pretty steady,” Maline said. “We have seen some dips in previous years, but overall the trends are pretty positive. Even statewide follows that trend that they are steady right now.”
Sea turtles do not reach maturity until around 25 to 30 years of age. This means it takes a full 30 years before those sea turtles will nest and the impacts of past events on their populations are witnessed.
In 1973, the Endangered Species Act was passed, and leatherbacks along with other sea turtles were given a chance to recover from being hunted.
Godfrey said the current numbers on nesting beaches is a result of the changes that took place following the passage of the Endangered Species Act.
“Prior to the Endangered Species Act, sea turtles were on the menu,” Godfrey said.
This means that the current situation for turtles is not reflective of the work his conservancy and other organizations across Florida are doing.
“We are seeing the effects now of that being put into place,” Maline said.
Maline’s department conducts lighting surveys at night, and she says that beachfront lighting is a huge issue for nesting sea turtles and hatchlings. Traditional lighting causes small hatchlings to become distressed. This puts them at risk to predators or burning up from the sun in the morning.
“On a natural dark beach, the brightest horizon is always in the direction of the sea,” Godfrey said. “When you have an artificially lit up beach, they go the wrong way.”
After the BP oil spill in 2010, in which 210 million gallons of oil leaked into the Gulf, the companies involved had to pay billions of dollars in fines to restore the damage. Money was allocated to do good things for turtles after that; Godfrey said the Sea Turtle Conservancy is still using money from that spill.
The conservancy also works to improve beachfront lighting conditions, using the money to help cover the cost to owners of beachfront property improvements to make their lighting more turtle-friendly.
Godfrey said that the impacts from this have been “not just positive, incredible.”
“It compounds,” Godfrey said. “You fix the lights on a big condo and every season after that there are no disorientations.”
Maline stressed the importance of individuals taking steps to ensure they don’t impact turtles any further. Keeping the beach dark, flat and clean supports the turtles during nesting.
The conservancy also works to monitor legislation that could impact turtles, collecting important nesting data and conducting international studies on sea turtles. But he stresses that besides beachfront lighting, these things don't show immediate results on population.
“We won't see the fruits of that for decades,” he said.
And while his organization and others throughout the state will continue working to improve sea turtle conditions, the species are facing extremely dangerous issues of rising ocean temperatures, beach development, and plastic pollution. These issues, which will show up decades later in population numbers, threaten the effectiveness of improvements.
Rising temperatures have been showing impacts on the sex of turtles, producing more females in incubation. In the long term, Godfrey says this could become an issue.
Plastic pollution is affecting turtles at rates Godfrey said he can’t confidently tell.
“Turtles eat it because they think it's food,” he said. “Little hatchlings that have been out in the water for a little while wash back from the sea, dead.”
Beach erosion has caused people to resort to sea walls to protect their property. This prevents turtles from being able to adapt to changing beaches. Building extremely close to the waterline on beaches that are eroding prevents turtles from adapting to the ebb and flow of a changing beach landscape.
“It completely blocks turtles from reaching suitable nesting habitat,” Godfrey said.
The Trump administration is proposing a change to the Endangered Species Act to redefine the word “harm.” This would make it harder to prevent development of crucial habitat, as it's not directly harming the animal dependent on it itself.
If the changes are approved, it could create significant issues for sea turtles in Florida that depend on safe, undeveloped beaches to nest.