Sea Turtle Safety

JUPITER, FL – May 1, 2017 – Palm Beach County is home to some of the world’s most beautiful beaches attracting international visitors – some with feet, and thousands with flippers! Our beaches just also happen to be home to some of the world’s most critically endangered sea turtles. Sea turtle nesting season runs from March 1 through October 31 in Palm Beach County; however, regardless of season, it is always important to pay special attention to our beaches and the critical habitats they harbor.

Loggerhead Marinelife Center researchers monitor a 9.5-mile stretch of beach from the northern Palm Beach County line (Jupiter Island) south to the northern border of John D. MacArthur Beach State Park. In 2016, the Center documented over 16,000 nests on that stretch, a record-breaking nesting year for loggerhead sea turtles. That’s one nest every three feet and comprises approximately five percent of the world’s total loggerhead sea turtle nests. The same stretch of beach also accounts for 15 percent of Florida’s leatherback nests (2016) and 13 percent of Florida’s green sea turtle nests (2016).

It is illegal to harm or harass sea turtles, their nests, or hatchlings, which are protected by the U.S. Endangered Species Act of 1973 and Florida Statute Chapter 370. For more information about sea turtle nesting, please visit www.marinelife.org/nesting or www.marinelife.org/research.