Sea Turtle Nesting and Conservation

The beautiful beaches of Greater Miami & Miami Beach attract visitors of all kinds. Some of them use their flippers to get there. Our beaches are a distinct nesting habitat for female sea turtles, who spend almost their entire lives in the ocean, coming on land only to nest as adults (male sea turtles never come ashore after they hatch and head for the sea).

If you've traveled to the destination in the summer or early fall, there's a good chance you've spotted colored tape and metal poles surrounding areas of sand on the beach. These are federally protected nests where sea turtles have carefully laid up to 100 eggs and kicked up piles of sand to cover them.

Regulations have been implemented to protect sea turtle nests on our public beaches. Here's what you need to know to keep these precious creatures safe while enjoying your day on the sand.

Nesting Season & the Sea Turtle Life Cycle

In Miami, sea turtle nesting season runs from April 1 to October 31. However, turtles may start nesting earlier or later, so the Miami-Dade County Sea Turtle Conservation Program monitors the coast from March through October. Around 600 nests are laid on Miami's beaches every year. Turtles can lay as many as seven nests each summer, each with up to 100 eggs. Once laid, the eggs take about 45-60 days to hatch. Baby sea turtles, called hatchlings, are about the size of an average human palm and are born with an instinct that orients them to the sea. Following the moon's light, these tiny creatures crawl toward the water to begin their lives as ocean dwellers. About one in 1,000 baby sea turtles survive to adulthood.

Types of Sea Turtles in Miami

The most common sea turtle species in Miami are loggerhead, leatherback and green sea turtles, though Kemp's ridley and hawksbill turtles can also be found in nearby waters.

Loggerhead Sea Turtles

Loggerhead turtles are named for their large heads, usually yellowish with red-brown spots. These giant heads help support their strong jaws to eat hard-shell prey. Adults weigh 180 to 440 pounds (specimens of over 1,000 pounds have been found). Female loggerheads lay eggs about the size of ping-pong balls. Loggerheads are listed as endangered worldwide by the Endangered Species Act. South Florida is one of two locations worldwide with more than 10,000 female loggerheads nesting yearly.

Leatherback Sea Turtles

Leatherback sea turtles, the largest of all turtles, are easily identifiable because of their size. As their name suggests, they're the only species of sea turtle that lacks a hard shell and are instead covered by leathery skin. Their teardrop body shape makes them the most hydrodynamic of any sea turtle. In the Caribbean Basin, adult leatherbacks average about 850 pounds, but they have been known to grow to as large as 2,000 pounds and 7-feet long. Leatherbacks can dive to depths of 4,000 feet (deeper than all other turtles) and stay below water for up to 85 minutes. Their diet consists of jellyfish and other marine invertebrates. Leatherbacks are listed as endangered worldwide by the Endangered Species Act.

Green Sea Turtles

The green sea turtle is the largest hard-shelled sea turtle but has a small head. Its name can be misleading since these turtles are usually black or dark brown. They get their name from a green rim of fat beneath their shell that comes from their seagrass- and algae-based diet. They weigh an average of about 250 to 400 pounds (some are as large as 700 pounds) and grow to about 5-feet long. Green sea turtles can live more than 70 years and are listed as endangered worldwide by the Endangered Species Act.

Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtles

Kemp’s ridleys are the world’s smallest sea turtles. Named after a Key West, Florida, fisherman who submitted this species for identification in 1906, the Kemp’s ridley sea turtle has a triangular head with a grayish-green top shell. It’s one of two sea turtle species in which large groups of female turtles come to shore to nest together. Most sea turtles lay their eggs at night, but Kemp’s ridleys are the only ones to nest during daytime. Kemp’s ridley turtles are listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act.

Hawksbill Sea Turtles

The hawksbill turtle get its name from its beak-like mouth, which is perfect for scavenging its favorite food: sea sponges. They can grow to up to 2- to 3-feet long and weigh between 100 and 150 pounds. Their shells are composed of a beautiful pattern of amber, yellow, red, orange, brown and black. These turtles can live up to 60 years and are protected under the Endangered Species Act.

Threats to Habitat & Sea Turtle Conservation

The biggest threats to endangered sea turtles come from loss of habitat due to sea level rise and urban development. Light pollution on land can also be disorienting to sea turtles while they're nesting and to hatchlings when it's time to head out to sea. Climate change also affects turtle populations via ocean currents, which create challenges for migrating turtles. Plus, warmer summers mean the sands are warmer; sand temperature plays a factor in determining the sex of sea turtles as they develop inside the nest (warmer temps mean more females).

Of the many pollutants that make their way into the ocean, plastics harm sea turtles. Plastic bags and cups look like the jellyfish some sea turtles feed on, but the results are often deadly when they ingest plastic or get wrapped in it. Natural predators in the food chain – from raccoons and other mammals raiding their nests on land to tiger sharks and other apex predators in the sea – are also a threat.

Fortunately, various regulations have been implemented, including local and state laws, such as Florida's Marine Turtle Protection Act, to protect sea turtle habitats. Many sea turtle rescue and rehabilitation centers in Greater Miami & Miami Beach and across Florida are also dedicated to the health of these fascinating creatures.

The City of Miami Beach has a Turtle Nesting Protection ordinance, and the city's Rising Above campaign is designed to raise awareness and help regulate light pollution, a problem for sea turtles and other nocturnal wildlife.

How You Can Help

There are plenty of ways for locals and visitors to help maintain Miami's beaches, keeping them clean and safe for nesting sea turtles. Avoid single-use plastic, especially at the beach. Use reusable bottles, cups or straws during your outings. Properly dispose of trash and help pick up any debris you may find while enjoying the beach. Key Biscayne and Sunny Isles Beach have Fill A Bag stations throughout their beaches to make picking up debris easier.

When enjoying the beautiful beaches, keep a safe distance from marked sea turtle nests. Once you are done with your time at the beach, undo any sandcastles or holes dug up so nesting turtles have no obstacles in their paths. If you are lucky enough to see a hatchling or a female sea turtle lay eggs, give it plenty of space, and whatever you do, do not touch them under any circumstances or use flash photography. This can confuse and scare the sea turtles. If you encounter a dead, injured or harassed sea turtle, please call the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission’s 24-hour hotline at 1-888-404-3922.

Many beachside communities have programs focused on sea turtles. Surfside and Sunny Isles Beach offer valuable information on their websites.

Florida residents can help sea turtle conservation by purchasing the sea turtle license plate to show their support for the survival of these beautiful, important creatures.

Celebrate World Sea Turtle Day

Celebrate World Sea Turtle Day on June 16, the birthday of Archie Carr, known as the father of sea turtle biology. His research brought global awareness to the importance of these species and the impact they have on our ecosystems.

Many Miami Dade County Public Parks and Florida State Parks offer events highlighting the importance of sea turtles. You can celebrate World Sea Turtle Day by participating in a local beach cleanup. Or attend a sea turtle nest excavation or hatching release with Miami-Dade Parks and visit Zoo Miami to learn about its Sea Turtle Hospital. You can also explore the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Biscayne Nature Center’s interpretive exhibitions and programming on sea turtles or meet Miko, the Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science’s resident rehabilitated loggerhead turtle.