SCCF: 889 sea turtle nests laid on islands
The Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation (SCCF) reported that the 2025 sea turtle nesting season in Southwest Florida officially came to an end on Oct. 31. The nest counts on Sanibel and Captiva were the fourth highest documented since 1992, when it took over the sea turtle monitoring program.
TOTAL NESTS
Following six and a half months of monitoring that started on April 15, a total of 889 nests were documented on the islands. It includes 868 loggerhead nests and 21 green turtle nests — a jump from only three green nests in 2024 — a pattern that follows the biennial return of the “green year.”
“This is expected due to green sea turtles nesting every two years on average,” SCCF sea turtle biologist Amanda Manrique said.
Florida saw a break from storm activity in 2025, leading to an increase in hatch success from last year when numerous storm events, especially Tropical Storm Debby, impacted sea turtle nest success.
TOTAL HATCHLINGS
A total of 26,562 loggerhead and 607 green hatchlings made it to the Gulf in 2025.
“Unfortunately, this is the second lowest hatchling count we’ve documented since 2016,” she said. “Predators continue to have a major negative impact on our sea turtle nests that decrease hatch success.”
This year, in an effort to mitigate depredations, 255 cages were installed on sea turtle nests identified to be in areas with higher depredation rates in previous years.
“Despite these efforts, 39.8% of nests still experienced a depredation event,” Manrique said.
Staff are continuing discussions with partners on ways to successfully address predation rates in future seasons.
“This busy season would not have been successful without the support of the Sanibel and Captiva communities,” she said. “From volunteers to donors, we are forever grateful to have so many helpful hands working to protect sea turtles on our islands.”