5/13/25 @ 6:00 am.
Sea turtle nesting season takes places annually from May 1st to October 31st. During this time, we will share week messages regarding sea turtles and what is being done to protect them.
Week Two:
Mary Duffy, Executive Director for the Amelia Island Sea Turtle Watch, has provided a beginning of the season update. Please see below.
"Turtle season 2025 has started off with a bang. Historically, the island’s first nest occurs around Mother’s Day. This year, all species have started nesting earlier throughout the state. Amelia Island’s first nest in 2025 was April 30! The earliest nest recorded was in 2013, on April 29. Prior to 2013, the turtles arrived during the first and second weeks of May. FWC (Fish and Wildlife Commission) has no definite reason other than the speculation that temperature changes might be getting them started earlier. At any rate, the nesting season has begun.
Beach renourishment is alive and well on our island and around the state. In 2021, the South Amelia Island Shore Stabilization Association (SAISSA) conducted a project on the south end of Amelia Island during nesting season. Also, each winter, the Navy contracts the Army Corps of Engineers (ACE) to perform a maintenance dredge of the St. Mary’s River Channel. Material dredged from the channel is placed on the north end of the island in an arrangement with the Navy, the ACE, and the City of Fernandina Beach. This maintenance dredge is not considered beach renourishment because the purpose of the work is to maintain the width and depth of the channel for the navy submarines. The sand that comes from the channel is considered sand deposition. There are no requirements for AISTW to monitor the beach during this maintenance dredge work because it is outside of nesting season.
As the 2025 nesting season begins, we have another project happening on the island. This project is also coordinated by the Army Corps of Engineers (ACE), and is considered renourishment because the borrow pit is south of the jetties and will not affect the channel used for submarines. It is a project that was funded several years ago but was postponed due to Covid. The purpose is to restore the beach after impact from numerous hurricanes. When the project begins, sand will be pumped onto the island beginning about 2 blocks north of Dolphin Street at Main Beach and will travel south to access 24, south of Sadler Rd. As with the project on the south end in 2021, AISTW is monitoring and relocating nests from the impacted area.
Mother’s Day brought the first nest to the project area and was relocated to a safe location.
AISTW has identified areas of the island where nests are safe from lights, vehicles, and normal erosion. This and future nests from the path of the project will be carefully dug up, carried to the new location, and carefully reburied. A new cavity is dug and designed to replicate (as much as possible) the original nest cavity. Sand from the original nest is used to line the new nest because it contains body fluid from the mother turtle. AISTW permitted volunteers are trained to dig up and relocate the eggs.
This is the only condition under which relocation can occur based on the AISTW permit issued by FWC and the US Fish and Wildlife Service (MTP 088). Nest relocation is considered by FWC to be a viable solution to issues created by such projects occurring during nesting season.
Hopefully, the turtles will choose less active and quieter places on the island to nest once construction is fully underway. This is another example of how adaptable these ancient mariners have proven to be."
Thank you, Mary, for this very exciting and informative update. We look forward to hearing more as the season goes on.
-Sabrina Robertson
Communications Officer
Sea turtle nesting season takes places annually from May 1st to October 31st. During this time, we will share week messages regarding sea turtles and what is being done to protect them.
Week Two:
Mary Duffy, Executive Director for the Amelia Island Sea Turtle Watch, has provided a beginning of the season update. Please see below.
"Turtle season 2025 has started off with a bang. Historically, the island’s first nest occurs around Mother’s Day. This year, all species have started nesting earlier throughout the state. Amelia Island’s first nest in 2025 was April 30! The earliest nest recorded was in 2013, on April 29. Prior to 2013, the turtles arrived during the first and second weeks of May. FWC (Fish and Wildlife Commission) has no definite reason other than the speculation that temperature changes might be getting them started earlier. At any rate, the nesting season has begun.
Beach renourishment is alive and well on our island and around the state. In 2021, the South Amelia Island Shore Stabilization Association (SAISSA) conducted a project on the south end of Amelia Island during nesting season. Also, each winter, the Navy contracts the Army Corps of Engineers (ACE) to perform a maintenance dredge of the St. Mary’s River Channel. Material dredged from the channel is placed on the north end of the island in an arrangement with the Navy, the ACE, and the City of Fernandina Beach. This maintenance dredge is not considered beach renourishment because the purpose of the work is to maintain the width and depth of the channel for the navy submarines. The sand that comes from the channel is considered sand deposition. There are no requirements for AISTW to monitor the beach during this maintenance dredge work because it is outside of nesting season.
As the 2025 nesting season begins, we have another project happening on the island. This project is also coordinated by the Army Corps of Engineers (ACE), and is considered renourishment because the borrow pit is south of the jetties and will not affect the channel used for submarines. It is a project that was funded several years ago but was postponed due to Covid. The purpose is to restore the beach after impact from numerous hurricanes. When the project begins, sand will be pumped onto the island beginning about 2 blocks north of Dolphin Street at Main Beach and will travel south to access 24, south of Sadler Rd. As with the project on the south end in 2021, AISTW is monitoring and relocating nests from the impacted area.
Mother’s Day brought the first nest to the project area and was relocated to a safe location.
AISTW has identified areas of the island where nests are safe from lights, vehicles, and normal erosion. This and future nests from the path of the project will be carefully dug up, carried to the new location, and carefully reburied. A new cavity is dug and designed to replicate (as much as possible) the original nest cavity. Sand from the original nest is used to line the new nest because it contains body fluid from the mother turtle. AISTW permitted volunteers are trained to dig up and relocate the eggs.
This is the only condition under which relocation can occur based on the AISTW permit issued by FWC and the US Fish and Wildlife Service (MTP 088). Nest relocation is considered by FWC to be a viable solution to issues created by such projects occurring during nesting season.
Hopefully, the turtles will choose less active and quieter places on the island to nest once construction is fully underway. This is another example of how adaptable these ancient mariners have proven to be."
Thank you, Mary, for this very exciting and informative update. We look forward to hearing more as the season goes on.
-Sabrina Robertson
Communications Officer
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