The 2023 Sanibel sea turtle nesting season has concluded.
On Friday, October 13th, the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation (SCCF) recorded the last remaining sea turtle nest of the 2023 season, which officially concluded on Tuesday, October 31st.
A Record-Breaking Year!
My! What a year it has been for loggerhead sea turtle nesting on Sanibel & Captiva Islands. After such a devastating loss due to Hurricane Ian in 2022, we needed this amazing come-back to re-establish our shoreline as a safe nesting location for the turtles, and, admittedly, to boost our island morale a bit.
During this 2023 sea turtle nesting season, the all-star team at SCCF recorded 1,177 total loggerhead nests (record-breaking), 24 green sea turtle nests (about average), with ~ 27,368 hatchlings emerging into the Gulf.
Sanibel Sea Turtle Stats
Take a look below at the nesting stats for the 2023 season as recorded on seaturtle.org. Note that our islands are broken down into three sections, Sanibel East, Sanibel West, and Captiva Island.
We should also note that not only was this a record-breaking year for loggerhead nests, but we also experienced more losses than normal due to various factors, including Hurricane Idalia which washed away 114 nesting sites.
Click here to learn more about each statistic type.
Sanibel Sea Turtle Season
From April through October, Sanibel and Captiva shores provide an important nesting habitat for loggerheads, green sea turtles, and in rare instances, leatherbacks and Kemp’s Ridley turtles. Click here to read our article on the 7 Different Types of Sea Turtles.
These turtles face numerous threats throughout their lives and are at great risk while on the beach for nesting season. SCCF reminds beach-goers to “Be a Lifesaver” with these important steps for providing a safe habitat for sea turtles.
Related Posts:
Celebrating Sea Turtle Season with SCCF
Keeping Sanibel Natural & Beautiful
McCallion & McCallion Beach Clean Up
