" The Amelia Island Sea Turtle Watch, Inc would like to thank Nassau County for their support throughout the season. Turtle Talk Tuesday has been a great educational tool for our residents, and we appreciate the effort.
All the sea turtle work we do on the island is governed by our permit from Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). As data collectors, we count hundreds of data elements. The two most basic data elements are the number of nests and the number of false crawls (abandoned nesting attempts). False crawls are when a turtle comes ashore to nest but doesn’t. False crawls occur on all beaches for a variety of reasons.
The second most basic data elements we count are the turtle species. The most common species nesting on Amelia Island is the loggerhead. Green turtle nests are beginning to increase in number on the island and, although more rare, we have had leatherbacks in previous years.
And finally, a frequently asked question is, “How many eggs were laid and how many hatchlings were produced."
Currently, we still have 4 nests incubating. We are hopeful that they will still be productive.
Our first nest was laid on May 8 and our last nest was laid on August 23. The basic, preliminary data is the following:
There were 245 total nests on Amelia Island
138 were in the county
107 were in the city
Of the 245 total nests on Amelia Island
229 were loggerhead
16 were green (a record number)
Of the 138 nests in the county
15 were green
Of the 107 nests in the city
1 was green
There were 276 total false crawls on Amelia Island
161 were in the county
115 were in the city
Of the 276 false crawls on Amelia Island
247 were loggerhead
29 were green
Of the 161 false crawls in the county
27 were green
Of the 115 false crawls in the city
2 were green
The total number of eggs laid on the island equals 18,906.
Of that total, 18,298 emerged on their own and crawled to the water.
So much goes into our work. This is only a small, preliminary snapshot of our efforts.
We will finish our reports to FWC and take a short rest, only to begin planning for the 2024 season in January which will begin on May 1, 2024. Information about volunteering with our group can be found on our website, www.ameliaislandseaturtlewatch.com."
Respectfully submitted by,
Mary Duffy, President
Amelia Island Sea Turtle Watch, Inc.