"The green sea turtle nesting count has surpassed our previous record by about 400 so far, but we're still seeing nests being deposited on the beach in the last few weeks, so it could be increasing even more," Quintin Bergman, coastal resource manager for the county, said.
That was Quintin Bergman. He's the coastal resource manager for Indian River County.
He shared with me that with nearly 4,600 hatchlings, the number of recorded green sea turtles being born on our shores has skyrocketed.
"Even just reaching the 4,000 mark is really significant. The previous record was 4,100. That was set in 2023, and before that, the record two records ago was only 2,600 in 2017," he said.
Quintin said that the Endangered Species Act is among the biggest reasons the hatchling numbers have been on the rebound.
"The Endangered Species Act was passed by the U.S. in 1973, so we've got about 50-plus years of protections afforded to sea turtles, their nests, and their habitat, which is really crucial for the recovery of a species that needs conservation," he said.
Since its establishment, the Endangered Species Act has allowed for a sort of snowball effect for turtle hatchling numbers.
"It takes anywhere between 20 to 30 years for one hatchling to reach adulthood. So if we're thinking on that scale and compare that with 50 years of protection, there's a good chance that at least two generations have been protected, which is going to ultimately do better for our population," he said.
It's a good season all around for hatchlings in our county, not just with green sea turtles.
"Leatherbacks don't historically nest here in super high numbers. On average, we get about 50 to 55 leatherback nests a year. The record for it was set in 2022 at 101 nests. This year, we luckily surpassed our average with 78 nests. We get a lot more nesting for our loggerheads. On average, we're getting about 7,000. In 2023, a record was set at 8,600. And right now, we have 6,700," he said.
While hatching season is still not technically over, it's likely we won't see a huge increase in hatchlings.
"We are through the peak nesting season. So the beaches have received most of those eggs already. The eggs that are remaining are still incubating and will be hatching in the next couple of weeks. Nesting season for Indian River County starts on March 1 and ends on Oct. 31. The real peak of the activity occurs during the summer months," he said.
Though numbers have been doing well, Quintin said the fight is far from over.
"There's still a long way to go. We're nowhere near population stability where they could be delisted. Our great folks over at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are the ones that evaluate the populations. But ideally, we want to see increases over the years. And that's what we are seeing. I think that the county's program for monitoring sea turtle nests these last 20 years has been a great benefit," he said.
One of the best ways to help out? If you're living on the beach, turn the lights off.
"The county has a nighttime lighting ordinance that requires any lights that can be seen from the beach to be either turned off at 9 p.m. or to be turtle-friendly, meaning it's an amber or red-colored light," he said.
Those not living on the beach can help out too, Quintin said.
"Making sure our waterways are clean. All waters lead to the ocean. So dispose of your trash properly. Recycle when you can. I encourage a lot of folks to reduce as much plastic usage as they can. That stuff takes a long time to break down. Eat sustainable seafood — there's a lot of accidental bycatch that occurs when acquiring seafood. Lastly, if you're a beach user, you want to leave the beach clean, flat, and dark. So cleaner than you found it, you want to flatten all of your holes and sand castles after you leave the beach. Keep that beach as dark as you possibly can," he said.