{"id":897233,"date":"2026-10-28T06:30:13","date_gmt":"2026-10-28T06:30:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/897233\/"},"modified":"2026-10-28T06:30:13","modified_gmt":"2026-10-28T06:30:13","slug":"14000-turtle-nests-decades-of-protection-pay-off-in-indian-river-county","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/897233\/","title":{"rendered":"14,000 turtle nests: Decades of protection pay off in Indian River County"},"content":{"rendered":"

VERO BEACH, Fla. (CBS12) \u2014 Indian River County\u2019s sea turtles broke a record. The county documented 14,083 nests as of Thursday, its highest total ever recorded. Coastal Specialist Dakota Whalen credits decades of conservation efforts for the milestone.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is actually a really big deal because what we\u2019re seeing is decades of conservation paying off,\u201d Whalen said.<\/p>\n

But the record season is facing a rough finish. Powerful waves and high tides are eroding beaches, threatening some remaining nests.<\/p>\n

\"Indian<\/p>\n

Indian River County\u2019s sea turtles broke a record. The county documented 14,083 nests as of Oct. 22, its highest total ever recorded. Coastal Specialist Dakota Whalen credits decades of conservation efforts for the milestone. (IRC)<\/p>\n

Loggerheads lead the record season<\/p>\n

The county\u2019s latest dashboard lists<\/a> 10,045 loggerhead nests, 3,970 green turtle nests and 68 leatherback nests.<\/p>\n

The total surpassed the previous record, set in 2023, by approximately 2,000 nests, according to Whalen.<\/p>\n

Loggerheads drove much of that increase.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re dominating with 10,000 nests across our entire coastline, which is an insane number,\u201d Whalen said.<\/p>\n

The orange markers beachgoers see represent only a fraction of the nesting activity. The county marks approximately one in 10 nests along its 22.4-mile coastline.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we mark 14,000 nests you wouldn\u2019t have anywhere to sit on the beach,\u201d Whalen said. \u201cAnd like seriously it would be a sea of orange.\u201d<\/p>\n

Researchers evaluate those marked nests to help measure reproductive success.<\/p>\n

Whalen said the long-term gains reflect years of work protecting turtles and their nesting beaches. Those efforts include monitoring, partnerships with conservation groups and encouraging turtle-friendly beach practices.<\/p>\n

Rough surf threatens remaining nests\"Indian<\/p>\n

Indian River County\u2019s sea turtles broke a record. The county documented 14,083 nests as of Oct. 22, its highest total ever recorded. Coastal Specialist Dakota Whalen credits decades of conservation efforts for the milestone. (IRC)<\/p>\n

A nor\u2019easter and king tides have brought challenging conditions as nesting season winds down.<\/p>\n

Waves strip away sand, potentially exposing eggs buried beneath the beach. Unsafe conditions have delayed surveys needed to determine the full extent of the damage.<\/p>\n

Whalen estimated that 75% to 90% of the county\u2019s nests had already hatched before the recent rough weather. <\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of them have already hatched out, a lot of them have made it to the water safely,\u201d Whalen said.<\/p>\n

Indian River County\u2019s nesting season officially ends on Halloween. Some nests may continue incubating beyond that date.<\/p>\n

Nesting numbers across the Treasure Coast<\/p>\n

Other counties also provided nesting figures. The totals cover different reporting dates and monitoring areas.<\/p>\n

Indian River County: As of Oct. 22, the county recorded 14,083 nests: 10,045 loggerhead, 3,970 green turtle and 68 leatherback nests.<\/p>\n

St. Lucie County<\/a>: As of Sept. 30, the county recorded 10,239 nests: 9,111 loggerhead, 956 green turtle and 172 leatherback nests.<\/p>\n

Martin County: As of Sept. 28, its Hutchinson Island monitoring area recorded 4,874 nests: 4,532 loggerhead, 161 green turtle and 181 leatherback nests.<\/p>\n

Martin County\u2019s figures cover approximately 7.5 miles of Hutchinson Island shoreline. That area stretches from the north side of St. Lucie Inlet to the Martin\u2013St. Lucie county line. <\/p>\n

CBS12 News has requested Palm Beach County\u2019s latest countywide figures from FWC and is awaiting those numbers.<\/p>\n

Boca Raton sees high nest counts, lower hatch success<\/p>\n

In Boca Raton, a strong nesting season did not translate into equally strong hatching results.<\/p>\n

David Anderson, sea turtle conservation coordinator at Gumbo Limbo Nature Center, reported the city\u2019s third-highest nesting season. That included record counts of 1,118 loggerhead nests and 43 leatherback nests.<\/p>\n

But an average of only about 50% of the eggs in inventoried nests hatched. Anderson said a typical hatch rate would be 70% to 80% or more.<\/p>\n

He attributed some losses to prolonged hot, dry conditions during peak incubation. High sand temperatures can prevent embryos from continuing to develop.<\/p>\n

Storms and high tides also washed out approximately 185 nests, Anderson said. Predators affected another 13 nests.<\/p>\n

Artificial lighting created additional problems after hatching. Anderson said hatchlings from at least 85 nests became disoriented and headed into the dunes.<\/p>\n

Staff plan to evaluate beachfront lighting and work with nearby properties before next season.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo sure, it\u2019s sad to see so many hatchlings and eggs not fully developed, but once again, we had a great nesting season,\u201d Anderson said. \u201cSo as long as the nesting numbers continue to climb, it gives us hope.\u201d<\/p>\n

What to do if you find eggs or hatchlings\"Indian<\/p>\n

Indian River County\u2019s sea turtles broke a record. The county documented 14,083 nests as of Oct. 22, its highest total ever recorded. Coastal Specialist Dakota Whalen credits decades of conservation efforts for the milestone. (IRC)<\/p>\n

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission says sea turtles spread their nests across the season. That strategy helps some nests survive even when storms damage others.<\/p>\n

After rough weather, beachgoers may find exposed eggs or young turtles washed ashore.<\/p>\n

FWC says to leave exposed eggs in place. Eggs swept from their nests rarely survive, and people should not collect or rebury them.<\/p>\n

Storm currents can also carry young turtles back ashore, sometimes tangled in seaweed. These \u201cwashback\u201d turtles may need specialized care.<\/p>\n

Do not pick them up or return them to the ocean. Instead, immediately call FWC\u2019s 24-hour Wildlife Alert Hotline at 888-404-3922 for instructions.<\/p>\n

Hatchlings actively crawling toward the ocean do not need assistance, according to FWC.<\/p>\n

Beachgoers can help by keeping beaches clean, flat and dark. Remove beach gear, fill holes, flatten sandcastles and keep lights off the beach at night.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"VERO BEACH, Fla. (CBS12) \u2014 Indian River County\u2019s sea turtles broke a record. The county documented 14,083 nests…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":897234,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[51],"tags":[79,201],"class_list":["post-897233","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wildlife","tag-science","tag-wildlife"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/897233","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=897233"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/897233\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/897234"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=897233"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=897233"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=897233"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}