Daytona Beach, FL – Volusia County has one of its best sea turtle nesting seasons ever.
Officials with the county’s Sea Turtle Habitat Conservation Plan say 667 nests were found on Volusia’s shoreline between May 1st and October 31st, the unofficial start and end dates to the sea turtle nesting season.
Program Manager Jennifer Winters says that number is the 3rd highest on record in Volusia, trailing only the 677 found in 2013 and the 919 discovered in 2012.
The vast majority of the nests were loggerheads, with 616 counted. There were also 37 green sea turtle nests and 14 leatherback nests, the latter of which is a Volusia record for 1 season.
Volusia averages between 400 and 500 sea turtle nests a year, with 2014’s 428 falling within that range. 414 were loggerheads and 7 were greens, with 5 leatherbacks and 2 rare Kemp’s ridley nests rounding out the list.
94,369 sea turtle nests were counted in Florida last year, according to the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission.
The sea turtle nesting season started out early in 2015, with at least 7 nests spotted by Volusia’s sea turtle watchers in April, including 4 leatherback nests and 3 loggerheads.
Many of Volusia’s nests have been found at the extreme ends of the county, either at Canaveral National Seashore near the Brevard line or North Peninsula State Park near the Flagler County line.
Winters thinks the high numbers are likely a result of federal and state government protection efforts made since the passage of the Endangered Species Act in the 1970’s.
Copyright 2015 Southern Stone Communications.