Sea turtle nesting season on Sanibel and Captiva will run from now through October. SANIBEL-CAPTIVA CONSERVATION FOUNDATION<\/p>\n
Nesting season for sea turtles recently kicked off on Sanibel and Captiva.<\/p>\n
April 15 marked the first day, and it will run through October.<\/p>\n
Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation Coastal Wild-life Director and Sea Turtle Program Coordinator Kelly Sloan reported that no nests had been recorded on the islands as of April 24. However, Fort Myers Beach had recorded its first one.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re here and they\u2019re coming back,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Sea turtle monitoring originally began on Sanibel in the 1950s with Charles LeBuff and Caretta Research Inc., making it one of the longest-running monitoring programs in the country. When Caretta Research disbanded in 1992, the SCCF took over the program and continues to manage it today.<\/p>\n
Loggerhead is the most common sea turtle species to nest on the islands, followed by the green sea turtle. The leatherbacks and Kemp\u2019s ridleys are rarer, but they have nested before on the islands.<\/p>\n
Last season, the SCCF recorded 654 loggerhead nests on Sanibel and 214 on Captiva.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was a good year in both cases,\u201d Sloan said.<\/p>\n
She noted that from 1992 to 2021, the nesting numbers on Sanibel were in the 150-300 range, then there was a huge jump in them. The season records are 880 nests on Sanibel and 299 on Captiva.<\/p>\n
About 20-30 green nests are recorded each season.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had 21 last year on Sanibel,\u201d she said, adding that there were none on its sister island. \u201cWe don\u2019t typically see that many on Captiva.\u201d<\/p>\n
Green sea turtles have a biennial nesting pattern.<\/p>\n
\u201cLast year was an up year, so we\u2019re anticipating that this season will be a lower season,\u201d Sloan said.<\/p>\n
One leatherback nest was recorded in 2024, and there were many nests laid in 2020.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re the ones to start nesting earlier in the state,\u201d she said. \u201cIt would be exciting if one of those turtles were to come back.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kemp\u2019s ridleys nest primarily in south Texas and Mexico.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re the smallest and most endangered sea turtles,\u201d Sloan said. \u201cAnd they nest during the day, which is fun to catch.\u201d<\/p>\n
She noted that it has been several years since the islands have had a nest.<\/p>\n
Monitoring component<\/p>\n
As part of its Sea Turtle Program, the SCCF is responsible for surveying approximately 18 miles of beach and nesting habitat on Sanibel and Captiva.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are out there every morning, a little before the sun comes up,\u201d Sloan said.<\/p>\n
The team looks for sea turtle crawls from the night before, which sometimes results in a nest and sometimes it does not. They determine if there is a nest or if it was a false crawl. If a nest is verified, the area is staked off and data is recorded. They wait for signs of emergence, which can mean tiny turtle tracks or a crater, which can indicate a hatch.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe monitor it daily throughout incubation for any signs of disturbance,\u201d she added, noting that the most common disturbances are predators and wash-overs.<\/p>\n
After a hatch, they wait three days and then excavate the nest. The total number of hatched and unhatched eggs are counted and recorded to determine how successful the season was.<\/p>\n
Sloan noted that it takes staff and a team of about 90-100 volunteers each year.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe truly couldn\u2019t do it without them,\u201d she said of the sea turtle volunteers, explaining that they can sometimes contribute over 5,000 hours collectively. \u201cWe are really, really lucky to have them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Heavier, larger screens will be used over the nests this season to try to reduce coyote predation.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe other ones were just not effective,\u201d Sloan said.<\/p>\n
In addition, the SCCF has submitted a proposal to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) for consideration for a sea turtle nest decoy program to try to deter coyotes.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf there\u2019s enough fake nests on the beach, maybe they won\u2019t consider it a reliable food source anymore,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Sloan noted that according to the FWC\u2019s 2025 data, Sanibel east, Sanibel west and Captiva ranked No. 12, No. 5 and No. 10 \u2014 respectively \u2014 for highest nest predication rates in the state, out of 235.<\/p>\n
Research component<\/p>\n
In addition to surveying, the SCCF\u2019s Sea Turtle Program has a research aspect.<\/p>\n
There is a night-time tagging project to identify and tag nesting females and record their data. An ongoing one, it will be the team\u2019s 11th season to head out at night from May 1 through July 31.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo we can learn more about population dynamics, nesting behavior and reproductive dynamics,\u201d Sloan said of the data collected.<\/p>\n
For its second and final year, the SCCF will continue a satellite tagging project. The team will track five additional sea turtles to collect data, including dives, water temperature, location and depth.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo we can learn more about how water temperatures are affecting their movements,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The public can track last season\u2019s turtles at sccf.hammerhead360.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n Beachgoers, boaters<\/p>\n As for having a successful nesting season, there are ways that the public can help.<\/p>\n The SCCF provided the following tips for beachgoers:<\/p>\n \u2022 After 9 p.m., it\u2019s turtle time! Turn off and shield all lights visible from the beach. Do not use flashlights on the beach.<\/p>\n \u2022 Remove obstacles to nesting females, such as beach furniture, toys and sandcastles.<\/p>\n \u2022 Fill in holes, which can trap sea turtles, especially hatchlings. Flatten sandcastles before leaving the beach for the day.<\/p>\n \u2022 Pick up all trash on the beach. Litter can attract predators, and sea turtles can ingest or become entangled by discarded trash and fishing line.<\/p>\n \u2022 Keep at least 10 feet away from marked sea turtle nests and do not disturb nesting females.<\/p>\n \u2022 Call the SCCF Sea Turtle Hotline at 978-728-3663 (978-SAVE-ONE) to report issues with nests, nesting turtles or hatchlings.<\/p>\n In addition, it offered the following tips for boaters:<\/p>\n \u2022 Avoid the area along the beach, if possible.<\/p>\n \u2022 Have a designated spotter on the boat to look out for sea turtles.<\/p>\n \u2022 Wear polarized sunglasses to help with spotting sea turtles.<\/p>\n \u2022 Go as slow as possible in areas where sea turtles are or might be.<\/p>\n \u201cEverybody can play a big role in helping sea turtles have a successful nesting season,\u201d Sloan said. \u201cThis is their home too, and we can help share the beach by following a few simple guidelines.\u201d<\/p>\n For more ways to protect and care for sea turtles, visit sancaplifesavers.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n For more information about the SCCF\u2019s Sea Turtle Program, visit sccf.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n