October 30 marked the close of a “very positive” sea turtle nesting season according to information provided by county officials to Historic City News in St Augustine this week.
A total of 698 nests were documented on St. Johns County beaches including 654 Loggerheads, 33 Greens, and 11 Leatherbacks.
Approximately 512 nests have produced more than 39,849 hatchling sea turtles.
Biologists predict that only one turtle for every 1,000 that hatch will survive to the age of 20 when they typically return to the beach to nest.
Based upon those estimates, approximately 39 turtles will hopefully return in year 2042 to lay nests.
Continuing the effort to improve County services, the Habitat Conservation Section and Information Systems Division initiated a successful online nesting data system to receive valuable data from turtle patrol volunteers.
In addition, an automated telephone system was implemented to provide beach patrons and visitors convenient access to current beach condition information, potential beach closures, and animal observation reporting.
The automated telephone system can be accessed at 904.209.0331