SCCF’s sea turtle team reports that the new loggerhead (Caretta caretta) nesting record on Sanibel continues to rise as nesting winds down on the island. Sanibel’s loggerhead count has reached 922 nests, surpassing the island’s previous single-season loggerhead record of 878, set in 2023.

Sanibel’s west end, spanning the West and Far West zones, has also pushed past its own recent high, now sitting at 709 loggerhead nests, compared to 631 previously.

Combined, loggerhead nests across Sanibel and Captiva now total 1,163 — just shy of the 1,177 loggerhead record set in 2023. Adding both islands’ green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) nests brings the season’s total count to 1,178 nests.

Sanibel alone now stands at 935 nests — 922 loggerhead and 13 green sea turtle — while Captiva has recorded 241 loggerhead and 2 green nests, for a total of 243.

Depredation Rate Also Climbing

As of the latest count, Sanibel’s coyote depredation rate has risen to 22.6%, with 211 nests depredated — more than double the federal Loggerhead Recovery Plan’s 10% management threshold. Captiva’s rate has climbed even higher, to 33.7%, with 82 nests depredated. Between the two islands, this averages to approximately 1 in 4 nests experiencing coyote depredation, with a depredation rate of 24.9%.

The depredations remain heavily concentrated on Sanibel’s western beaches, where the Far West zone — between Bowman’s Beach and Blind Pass — continues to see the most severe impact of any zone on the island.

The Far West zone’s depredation rate — now over 42% — remains more than four times the recovery plan’s threshold.

Hatchling Counts Will Tell the Full Story

The season’s record loggerhead count reflects decades of conservation work protecting sea turtles on Sanibel and Captiva, home to one of the longest-running sea turtle monitoring programs in the U.S. But the rising depredation numbers suggest that predation pressure — flagged as a growing concern back in July — has continued on the trajectory researchers expected, climbing further as the season heads into its final weeks.

Final totals and the true scale of this season’s impacts won’t be clear until nesting wraps up, the last remaining nests either hatch or experience predation or washouts, and total emerged hatchling counts are finalized.

During the 2023 record-breaking loggerhead nesting season for both Sanibel and Captiva, approximately 43% of the nests on Sanibel and Captiva were depredated, resulting in the lowest number of emerged hatchlings at that time since 2016.

SCCF’s sea turtle team continues to monitor nests daily across both islands. Visitors and residents are encouraged to do their part to help protect nests and hatchlings by following these guidelines:

Lights out. Lights from flashlights and beachfront houses can disorient sea turtles on our beaches. See below for beach lighting guidelines.

Fill in holes. Sea turtles, especially hatchlings, can become trapped in holes dug in the sand.

Don’t disturb nesting turtles. Never get too close to, touch, shine lights on, or take flash photos of nesting sea turtles.

Remove obstacles from the sand. Sea turtles can’t move in reverse, so it’s important to flatten sandcastles and remove all chairs, tents, gear, and toys from the beach at the end of the day.

Properly dispose of trash. Not only does litter attract predators, but sea turtles can ingest or become entangled by discarded trash and fishing line.

Don’t disturb screens. The protective nest screens prevent predators from eating the eggs and allow hatchlings to emerge through the holes without assistance.

Call for help. Report any issues with nests, nesting turtles, or hatchlings by calling our Sea Turtle Hotline at 978-728-3663 (978-SAVE-ONE).

Learn more about protecting nesting sea turtles>>>

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