For many, the month of May means the last time for school and the start of summer vacation season. Many of these vacations might be along the Georgia coast, Jekyll Island, St. Simons. For turtles across the Atlantic Ocean, it also means heading to the Georgia coast – egg-laying is not exactly a vacation though.
“It’s like clockwork, we always get our first nest during the first week of May,” said Georgia Sea Turtle Program Coordinator Mark Dodd. The first nest this season was a loggerhead nest spotted on Jekyll in the morning of May 1. Daily nest monitoring starts in mid-May but a report from beach goers helped the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.
Sophisticated population modeling predicts a good year for nesting this summer. This is the last year of a three-year pattern that points to a surge this year. Loggerheads are not the only sea turtle that enjoys the 100-mile span of Georgia coastline but they are the primary turtle that nests in our area. Three years ago, in 2022, there were 4,071 loggerhead nests, the most since this level of tracking began in 1989. The total dipped in 2023 and 2024, but overall, the loggerhead population has been increasing at approximately a 4 percent annual rate for some 25 years. A little lull in the early 2000s predicts that the population will plateau a bit for several years, but if current protections remain in place during that period, numbers will begin to grow again. A little bit of that growth and then we will be at numbers not seen in nearly 100 years.
“This is predicated to be a big year for nesting. That being said, our modeling suggests the loggerhead population will stabilize at current levels for about the next 15 to 20 years,” said Dodd. “So we don’t expect this season to be way beyond (previous high counts). But relative to the three-year cycle, it should be up.”
More than 200 volunteers, researchers and DNR employees hit the beaches every day during nesting season as part of the Sea Turtle Cooperative. Every day, they mark and protect loggerhead nests, as well as those that are here less regularly like the green sea turtle (Crush from Finding Nemo) and Kemp’s ridley turtle.
“Just like the turtles, we’re here every year,” Dodd said. “To monitor wildlife populations you often need a long-term data set to figure out what’s going on. The more data we have, the better we understand the status of the species. We started out averaging about 850 nests a year and in the last six years we’re just over 3,000 nests a year.”
In addition to reporting nests that you see while taking that sunrise walk on the beach, visitors to the coast can do a number of things to assist the DNR in their efforts. One thing to keep in mind is the impact of lights on the beach at night. Either the lights from that rental property or even using headlamps on the beach at night, this can deter turtles from coming ashore for nesting. If a fisherman is unlucky enough to snag one, they should keep in mind to never try to lift the turtle by the hook or by pulling on the line. Call DNR at 800-2-SAVE-ME (800-272-8363). The number to report a turtle (478) 994-1438.
