Sea Turtles

The Clearwater Marine Aquarium said Friday that 271 nests were documented this year along a 21-mile stretch of beach patrolled by its teams, up from 227 last year.

Last year, sea turtle nests were lost when Hurricane Idalia whipped up Florida's Gulf Coast before making landfall in the Big Bend during the last week of August as a Category 4 storm. This year, Hurricane Debby disturbed sea turtle nests again along that coast before making landfall in the Big Bend during the first week of August as a Category 1.

This year's sea turtle nesting season is going great, with a leatherback on Sanibel and early nesting throughout the region. But few turtle lovers forget last season when early signs were record-breaking but the season's results were heart-breaking.

This year's sea turtle nesting season is going great, with a leatherback on Sanibel and early nesting throughout the region. But few turtle lovers forget last season when early signs were record-breaking but the season's results were heart-breaking.

So far this week, the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation has documented 554 loggerhead nests and 1 leatherback nest on Sanibel and Captiva Islands -- 422 nests on Sanibel and 133 nests on Captiva.

For 43 years, Mote Marine in Sarasota has been documenting sea turtle nests on the areas' beaches.

Residents and visitors can help protect vulnerable nesting sea turtles this spring and summer while visiting Florida’s coastal habitats.

The Kemp's ridley sea turtles were released back into the Atlantic Ocean near Cape Canaveral after two months of rehabilitation.

A balloon ban bill is floating its way through the Florida capital.

The record-setting start to 2023’s nesting season was real, but extreme weather events linked to climate change ending in a sad and bleak reproductive cycle.

Seven Ridley’s sea turtles are among 13 given holiday-themed names as they are treated at Loggerhead Marinelife Center in Juno Beach. They were among 52 flown to Tampa last week from the New England Aquarium in Massachusetts.

Fifty-two endangered Kemp’s ridley sea turtles suffering from “cold stun” are rehabbing at four facilities in Florida after a flight on a private jet from the New England Aquarium in Massachusetts.