Record-Breaking Sea Turtle Nesting Season on Anna Maria Island
ANNA MARIA ISLAND – As turtle nesting season winds down, local conservationists are celebrating a record-breaking year for green sea turtles and another strong showing for loggerheads along Anna Maria Island’s beaches.
According to Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch, 2025 marked the highest number of green sea turtle nests ever recorded on the island. Sixteen nests were documented this season—up from the previous record of twelve—representing roughly a 33% increase. All but one of those nests successfully hatched, producing an estimated 1,225 baby green turtles that made their way to the Gulf of Mexico.
Loggerhead turtles, the most common species nesting in the region, also had an outstanding year. Volunteers documented 463 loggerhead nests along the island’s 8.5-mile stretch of beach, with 409 hatching successfully. That translates to nearly 30,000 hatchlings—29,674 to be exact—with one final nest yet to hatch.
Turtle Watch Director Kristen Mazzarella credited the successful season in part to calm weather conditions. Unlike last year, when hurricanes disrupted nesting activity, no major storms made landfall in the area during the 2025 season.
However, last year’s storms still left a mark. Volunteers reported an uptick in disorientations—when hatchlings lose their way to the sea due to artificial lighting. The destruction of dunes and vegetation during past storms removed natural barriers that typically help block light from nearby homes and guide hatchlings toward the ocean.
Despite those challenges, the data paints a promising picture. Nest counts on Anna Maria Island have doubled over the past fifteen years, signaling that local conservation efforts and public awareness campaigns are making a difference.
Globally, the outlook for green sea turtles is also improving. The International Union for Conservation of Nature recently reclassified the species from “Endangered” to “Least Concern,” a shift that reflects decades of coordinated conservation work.
As nesting season concludes, Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch continues to remind residents and visitors to keep lights low, remove beach furniture at night, and respect marked nesting sites—helping ensure the next generation of sea turtles has a safe path to the sea.