Mote Marine documents more than 5,700 nests before Oct. 31 end of season
Sarasota County is not the only county in Florida to have seen a record number of sea turtle nests this year, The Sarasota News Leader has learned.
In fact, the season was record-setting for the state, as the Sea Turtle Preservation Society has reported.
Mote Marine Laboratory recently announced that its Sea Turtle Conservation and Research Program (STCRP) “documented a historic nesting season in 2025, with 5,735 total nests recorded along 35 miles of Sarasota County beaches, from Longboat Key to Venice. This marks the highest number of nests ever recorded in Mote’s 43-year monitoring history, far surpassing 2024’s 4,369 nests,” a news release pointed out.
“Loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta), a threatened species protected under the U.S. Endangered Species Act, made up the vast majority of nests (5,384), followed by green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas), which accounted for 351 nests,” the release noted. “Sarasota County occasionally hosts rare nests from Kemp’s ridley and leatherback turtles as well,” it added.
In Pinellas County, the News Leader learned, biologists with the Clearwater Marine Aquarium recorded 405 nests on a 21-mile stretch of Pinellas County’s beach, the St. Pete Catalyst has reported.
“In comparison,” reporter Michael Connor wrote, “271 nests were observed in 2024 — which was itself an increase.”
For another example of data, the Indian River County Commission announced that, as of Sept. 12, the number of green sea turtle nests had “surpassed the previous record of 4,105 nests set in 2023, reaching an impressive 4,515, and we’re still counting.”
The total ended up being 4,636, the Indian River County Sea Turtle Conservation Program reported.
Oct. 31 marks the traditional end of the nesting season.
The Indian River County announcement added, “Overall, it has been an outstanding sea turtle nesting season, with all three documented sea turtle species showing astounding nesting numbers.” Along with green sea turtles, the other species observed in Indian River County are loggerheads and leatherbacks, that report noted.
Further, the Sea Turtle Preservation Society reported on Nov. 2 that, in late October, ABC News produced a feature “on this year’s record sea turtle nesting season in Florida.
Although sea turtle nesting season still was ongoing at that time, the Society pointed out that, “according to the Space Coast Office of Tourism and the Canaveral National Seashore, numbers for the Space Coast” were as follows:
- 20,545 loggerhead nests.
- 31,893 green sea turtle nests.
- 61 leatherback nests.
- 3 Kemp’s Ridley nests.
In its announcement, Mote did note, “Unfortunately, the unprecedented number of nests” was not the only 2025 trend that its Sea Turtle Conservation and Research Program (STCRP) data had revealed. “This year also marked the highest number of disorientations ever documented by Mote (716 events),” the release said. “Disorientations occur when artificial lighting along the shoreline misleads hatchlings or returning nesting females away from the ocean, often resulting in exhaustion, dehydration, or death,” the release explained.
“This year’s record numbers show that Mote’s conservation measures are working,” said Dr. Jake Lasala, manager of Mote’s Sea Turtle Conservation and Research Program, in the release. “However, we’re seeing new challenges emerge, such as the rise in disorientations. It’s more important than ever for our community to turn off or shield beachfront lights, remove beach furniture at night, and keep nesting areas clear to give every hatchling the best possible chance at survival,” Lasala added.
“Mote’s STCRP has monitored and protected sea turtle nesting activity since 1982, collecting long-term data essential to understanding population trends” and reproductive success, as well as how environmental and human factors affect nesting behavior, Mote said in its release. “The program’s dataset represents one of the longest continuous sea turtle monitoring efforts in the U.S.,” the release pointed out.
“The dedicated individuals of Mote’s Sea Turtle Patrol are at the heart of this mission,” the release continued. “Comprising STCRP staff, interns, and more than 300 volunteers, the Sea Turtle Patrol conducts daily surveys from April 15 through October 31, documenting every crawl, nest, and hatchling emergence.
In an uncommon occurrence,” the release added, nests still were incubating into November. “STCRP’s careful monitoring helps ensure each nest is properly marked and protected,” the release noted.
“STCRP scientists use the data they collect to study phenological shifts (changes in the timing of nesting), nest density, hatching success, and the influence of environmental factors, work that supports management decisions by local, state, and federal conservation partners,” the release explained.
To learn more about joining Mote’s Sea Turtle Patrol or how to keep sea turtles safe on Sarasota County beaches, visit mote.org/seaturtles.