07/16/2026
Exciting sea turtle news! 📣🌊🐢🎊
🐢 2026 Sea Turtle Nesting Season Update 🐢
The 2026 nesting season continues to bring exciting developments across Florida’s beaches!
🟠 Loggerheads are having an outstanding season, with 94,667 nests documented statewide, the highest June total recorded in the past five years and currently on pace for a possible record year.
🟣 Leatherbacks continue to impress, with 2,152 nests documented so far. If these preliminary numbers are confirmed, 2026 would become Florida’s new record leatherback nesting season.
🔵 Green turtles are proving to be one of the season’s biggest surprises. Because they often alternate between higher and lower nesting years, 2026 was expected to be a lower year, but 10,603 nests have already been documented statewide.
🟢 Kemp’s ridley turtles remain rare but exciting visitors to Florida’s beaches, with 15 confirmed nests reported so far this season.
🟡 Florida’s first confirmed olive ridley nest remains one of the most remarkable discoveries of the 2026 season.
🌴 Thank you to all the permit holders, volunteers, interns, and partners working together to document sea turtle nesting activity across the state!
📊 Preliminary statewide totals as of June 30, 2026
• Loggerhead: 94,667 nests
• Green Turtle: 10,603 nests
• Leatherback: 2,152 nests
• Kemp’s Ridley: 15 confirmed nests
• Olive Ridley: 1 confirmed nest
• Hawksbill: 0 nests
📸 FWC photos
