SARASOTA COUNTY, Fla. — The Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium announced the first official sea turtle nest documentation of 2023 in Sarasota County.
On Tuesday morning, the first local nest laid by a loggerhead sea turtle, which is an endangered species protected under federal law, was found in Casey Key.
According to the aquarium, loggerheads are the most common species on Southwest Florida's nesting beaches.
Mote's Sea Turtle Conservation & Research Program (STCRP), interns and about 300 volunteers started monitoring Sarasota area beaches on Saturday. This nest was found early just three days after patrolling began.
Anyone interested in seeing Mote's weekly counts of sea turtle nests can click here.
The loggerhead turtle is named for its large head, which supports powerful jaw muscles that allow them to feed on hard-shelled prey, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration explains online.
The population of turtles in the U.S. declined because of bycatch in fishing gear like trawls, gillnets and longlines.
"The use of turtle excluder devices (TEDs) in shrimp trawls, gillnet bans, and other gear modification have reduced sea turtle bycatch in some fisheries, but bycatch in fishing gear remains the biggest threat facing loggerheads," the agency explains.
Read more about the species here.