Sea turtle nesting season has opened with encouraging numbers on Florida’s Gulf Coast, despite one growing threat.
Sanibel and Captiva islands are standouts so far in the season, with hundreds of loggerhead turtles nesting there, WGCU reported.
A potential obstacle is still developing, though. Rising amounts of sargassum seaweed could make it harder for nesting females to come ashore and for their hatchlings to reach the water later in the season.
What’s happening?
Sanibel and Captiva islands are far ahead of last year’s pace in terms of nest counts. After six weeks of nesting season, the islands had 342 sea turtle nests, compared with 264 at the same point last year, according to WGCU…