The Loggerhead Marinelife Center in Juno Beach has recorded the third highest record numbers for the 2020 Sea Turtle Nesting Season. The Sea Turtle Nesting season begins on February 28th and last until October 31st and despite having an active hurricane season, the center recently announced another successful season.
During the few months of the nesting season, Marinelife Center staff surveyed the beach in northern Palm Beach County. Researchers have said that this year they have documented 16,935 sea turtle nests along the beach. The nests included: 286 leatherbacks, 13,059 loggerheads, 3,590 green sea turtle nests.
The Director of Research noted that this year’s numbers were the third-highest nest count since the center begin surveying sea turtle nests in the 1980s. Despite nesting season being officially over, turtle hatchlings may still be on the beaches for the next few months and that beachgoers should avoid touching them.
Along the 9.5 miles of sandy shoreline, thousands of sea turtles lay their eggs in the sand. The nests usually contain about 100 eggs in each and requires 45 to 60 days to hatch. Juno Beach is one of the most populated sea turtle nesting areas in the world. The main reason is being so close to the gulf stream current that bends toward Florida and its proximity to the Sargasso Sea, a region of the Atlantic Ocean.
The Loggerhead Marinelife Center focuses their efforts on helping the injured and endangered sea turtles before releasing them back into the ocean. The Center monitors the beach daily and provides care for sick and injured sea turtles through their research and rehabilitation center.
