Some Florida beaches see record year for sea turtle nests

Leatherback turtles laid a record 79 nests on beaches in Broward County this year, nearly double the previous record for the endangered reptiles.

Leatherbacks are the giants among sea turtles, capable of reaching more than 1,000 pounds. Living almost entirely on jellyfish, they will dive thousands of feet to get their prey. They return to land only to lay eggs.

The increase in nests took biologists by surprise.

“It’s difficult to say why Broward County saw such an increase in leatherback nesting this season,” said Stephanie Kedzuf, a biologist for Broward County who specializes in sea turtles. She said she will be curious to see if other areas registered a similar increase.

The number of leatherback nests in Broward has varied widely from year to year, she said, reaching a low of 12 nests in 2017 and increasing every year after that.

The previous record for leatherbacks in Broward had been set in 2012, when there were 46 nests.

“They are named for their tough rubbery skin and have existed in their current form since the age of the dinosaurs,” states a description from the National Marine Fisheries Service.

Leatherbacks usually nest at night, crawling onto beaches and digging holes to deposit about 100 eggs.

Nesting season in South Florida runs from March 1 to Oct. 31, during which coastal buildings must shield or lower lights to prevent them from disorienting hatchlings.

When the turtles hatch, they race toward the ocean to avoid land predators such as crabs and birds. For the past century or so, this practice has been disrupted by artificial lights that draw the baby turtles inland, where they can get run over, killed by predators or trapped in storm drains.

Leatherback are thought to have declined by 40% worldwide, with threats including unintentional catch in fishing gear, loss of nesting habitat and pollution, according to the National Marine Fisheries Service.

A total of 2,795 nests of sea turtles of all species were recorded in Broward County this year, not counting the beach at Dr. Von D. Mizell-Eula Johnson State Park, which are counted separately.