RIVIERA BEACH, Fla. (CBS12) — A sea turtle expert in our area says numerous sea turtle nests have been destroyed recently on Singer Island due to beach erosion and rough surf.

Debbie Sobel, President of Sea Turtle Conservation League of Singer Island, a non-profit volunteer group, estimates over 100 sea turtle nests have been washed away in the past month or so on Singer Island.

She says it’s the worst she’s seen in at least 20 years.

“We’ve lost about a hundred nests so far if not more. So it’s a very depressing end to our turtle season. This is pretty bad,” Sobel said.

Sobel says Hurricane Erin, Humberto, and Imelda brought strong waves to Singer Island, which washed away sea turtle nests along the beach.

She feels the King Tide has exacerbated the situation.

“I want to cry. Yeah, it’s very depressing. When you get erosion like this, then the next high tide that comes in just takes them all out and washes them into the ocean,” Sobel said.

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Singer Island is an important nesting beach for three types of sea turtles: loggerheads, green, and leatherbacks.

We watched as she found a sea turtle nest on Singer Island near Ocean Reef Park that was partially-exposed, but the sea water had not yet reached most of the eggs. She was able to carefully unearth the eggs and take them to another spot further from the water where she reburied them and she hopes they will safely hatch. Disturbing or touching sea turtle eggs is against the law, but Sobel has a state permit that allows her to do it.

“I feel happy. I feel like this is part of my quest is to preserve an endangered species. They would’ve washed out in the next high tide. They would’ve all been gone,” she explained.

Sea turtle nesting season in Florida runs from March 1 through October 31.

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