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Endangered sea turtles have broken nesting records this summer on the beaches of the southeast. According to the Associated Press, scientists attribute the giant sea turtle egg egg laying boom to conservation measures implemented more than 30 years ago.
Researchers and volunteers from Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina have recorded more than 12,200 nests left by loggerheads. That's more than the highest number of 11,321 recorded three years ago.
Biologist Mark Dodd, who leads the sea turtle recovery program in Georgia, attributes recent nesting records to two conservation measures introduced decades ago. This includes monitoring the state closely and protecting the nests of sea turtles and an imposing mandate on shrimp trawlers to equip their nets with escape traps.
3,500 loggerhead nests have been recorded on the beaches of Georgia. The previous record for the state was 3,289 documented in 2016. According to Dodd, the final tally is expected to reach 4,000 nests by the end of August.
The nesting of sea turtles usually takes place from May to August. Loggerhead turtles weighing up to 300 pounds crawl into the Atlantic Ocean and lay about 100 small eggs per nest.
"My lab is near ground for samples now," Professor Joe Nairn of the University of Georgia, who studies adult female turtles, told AP. "It's pretty obvious to us that it's a great year."
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