Emerald Coast Turtle Watch

🐢Our 2023 nesting season has almost come to an end. All of our nests have hatched and been inventoried but we will continue to monitor our beaches until the end of the month. Give us a wave if you see us out on these chilly mornings! 👋

Here are our season totals:

🔹Total nests: 12 loggerhead nests (3 on Okaloosa Island, 9 in Destin)
🔹Hatchlings produced: 464
🔹Hatch success: 57%
🔹2 nests were washed out from Hurricane Idalia
🔹1 nest on Okaloosa Island had been severely inundated during Hurricane Idalia which likely caused development to stop in the nest. That nest did not hatch and had 92 whole eggs in it when evaluated.

Even though our hatch success was lower than we would like to see this year, we still had more nesting activity than we have had in the past few years! As long as our locals and visitors continue to keep our beaches clean, flat, and dark and safe for our sea turtles, we will hopefully continue to see an increase in nesting activity!

We want to thank you all for a wonderful season and for the passion and love that you have for protecting our sea turtles ❤️