The first green sea turtle nest of 2025 on Sanibel was documented Monday.
The Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation said that a returning turtle named Dellora created the first green sea turtle nest on Sanibel this year.
According to the SCCF, nearly all sea turtle nests on Sanibel and Captiva each season are from loggerheads, but the area also sees up to 30 green turtle nests a season.
The SCCF said that it has encountered Dellora 12 times in the last seven years. The Conservancy of Southwest Florida tagged her on Keewaydin Island in 2015. She has also been on Sanibel in 2018, 2019, 2021 and 2022, according to the SCCF.
Green sea turtle nesting season picks up in June, but the SCCF said that Dellora usually comes early. She has typically been one of the first green turtles the SCCF documents to start a season.
On Southwest Florida's Gulf Coast, sea turtle nesting season takes place from May 1 through Oct. 31.
To help sea turtles throughout nesting season, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission suggests turning beachfront lights off or closing curtains when it gets dark outside. According to the SCCF, after 9 p.m. is a good time to do so. The lights can misdirect and disturb nesting sea turtles and hatchlings, which could lead them away from the ocean, according to the FWC.
The SCCF recommends filling in holes, leveling sandcastles, picking up everything and respecting posted nesting areas. The FWC also said that people should stay over 50 feet away, and that it is illegal to harm or disturb nesting sea turtles, their nests and eggs, or to pick up hatchlings.
If you are on or by the beach and see anything that may impact sea turtle nesting, please contact the FWC through the FWC’s Wildlife Alert Hotline at 888-404-FWCC (3922). The SCCF also has a sea turtle hotline that can be reached at 978-728-3663.
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