[ad_1]
Rare giant loggerhead marine turtles set nesting records this summer along the beaches of Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina.
According to The Associated Press, turtles, weighing up to 300 kg, have left more than 12,200 nests, far ahead of the 11,321 nests recorded in the highest previous count in 2016.
Researchers and volunteers have recorded the record number of nests on the beaches of the southeast, with scientists attributing decades-old conservation efforts to increasing the number of clutches.
The species, which generally nests from May to August, is a threatened species protected under the Endangered Species Act.
Biologist Mark Dodd, who leads marine turtle recovery in Georgia, told AP that the increase in nest numbers could be due to tighter monitoring and the requirement that the shrimpers have escape traps for sea turtles.
"They were able to survive to maturity, reproduce and come back to lay eggs," said Michelle Pate, who runs the South Carolina Sea Turtle Program, on the cable service. "It's been a long way, but I think we're seeing it bear fruit."
The loggerheads of the Atlantic Ocean lay about 100 eggs the size of a pingpong ball per nest, the AP said. During the nesting season, volunteers along the coast daily paint the beach around the sunrise to record new nests and cover them with protective screens.
More than 3,500 loggerhead nests were cataloged in Georgia and 7,100 in South Carolina, according to the AP; North Carolina, meanwhile, is approaching its record of 1,622 nests.
Florida has more fern nests than any other state each year, so it does not officially count until the end of the season, reported the AP. In 2016, the state had a record of 122,707 people.
Beth Mongiovi, a sea turtle researcher from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission, told the AP in a statement that Florida was living up to now with a "robust season".
"As for this record year for loggerheads, it is too early to say," she said.
[ad_2]
Source link