Nest counts around Florida's Gulf Coast are down. It’s peak season, but there’s still time. Hopes are high for the number to rise.
Every summer dozens of sea turtles crawl onto the Gulf Coast beaches near St. Petersburg, Fla., to lay their eggs. Biologists and volunteers usually find more than 100 nests. But last year, they found only 38.
Biologists and volunteers from the Clearwater Marine Aquarium patrol the beach for nests every morning. Sea turtle biologist Joe Widlansky, known as "Turtle Joe," still doesn't know why last year's count was so low.
"We don't know if it's just a fluke," Widlansky said.
Three of the seven species of sea turtles — all of which are endangered or threatened — commonly nest on Florida's Gulf Coast. As many as 90 percent of loggerhead turtles make their nests on Florida's beaches, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Loggerhead nest counts have declined nearly 50 percent since 1998. Populations of green and leatherback turtle nests, though considerably smaller, are on the rise.
So far this summer, Widlansky and his colleagues have found a total of 57 nests.
"We're doing better than last year," he said. "Now I'm just hoping, being cautiously optimistic, that we'll be close to our normal year. You can never tell with these guys.
"They're still gonna be laying eggs until August, so we still have quite a ways to go."