Florida Sea Turtles on Track for Historic Nesting Season

By Lisa Neff

Sea turtles already set a statewide record and hit a local milestone based on mid-season data from conservation officials tracking beachfront activity.

By July 18, green sea turtle nests documented on Anna Maria Island by Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring had matched the record set in 2023 — 12.

“Hope to break the record next week!” AMITW executive director Kristen Mazzarella said July 18.

The week of July 12-18, AMITW had documented two new green nests, as well as 41 nests created by loggerheads, the species most common to AMI.

The total number of sea turtle nests on AMI was 502, with 48 already hatched. “Nesting continues to decline as hatching is increasing,” Mazzarella said in her weekly report.

To the south of AMI, Longboat Key Turtle Watch gathers data for the Manatee County portion of the key. As of July 7, there were 579 sea turtle nests, just shy of the 585 documented in 2024.

There are many more shorelines monitored for sea turtle nests in the state. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission collects data from turtle watch groups and others monitoring 228 beaches on about 835 shoreline miles to compile its nesting beach survey.

In a preliminary statewide assessment of the 2025 nesting season, the FWC said nesting for leatherbacks already hit a milestone — a record 1,960 as of June 30, the highest number ever recorded in the state. The record that fell — 1,631 —was set in 2022.

“While leatherback nesting is nearing its end, a few more nests may still be added, making this historic season even more impressive,” the FWC reported.

Loggerhead nesting numbers were holding steady, according to the FWC, which described them as “within the normal range for Florida” after strong seasons in 2022, 2023 and 2024. As of June 30, there were 62,344 loggerhead nests documented in the state.

Green turtle numbers for the state were on pace to be higher than in 2024 but “still below 2023’s massive numbers,” according to the FWC. Greens follow a two-year nesting cycle, so conservation officials are expecting a higher year in 2025. As of June 30, there were 9,393 green nests.

The rarest sea turtle nesting in Florida is the Kemp’s ridley. The FWC said, “Nine Kemp’s ridley nests have been confirmed so far. While these nests are rare, each one is a valuable and exciting discovery.

Nesting season continues through Oct. 31 in the state, though the pace of new nests begins to decline midsummer.

For 2024, the state reported 14,312 green turtle nests, 110,339 loggerhead nests, 1,800 leatherback nests and 34 Kemp’s ridley nests.

For more information

For more information about Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring, go to islandturtlewatch.com.

For more about Longboat Key Turtle Watch, go to lbkturtlewatch.com. For more about the state’s nesting beach survey program, go to myfwc.com/research/wildlife/sea-turtles/nesting/nesting-atlas/