Sea turtle nesting season underway with sighting in Venice
A loggerhead sea turtle hatchling (Source: N.C. Aquarium at Fort Fisher)
By ABC7 Staff | April 22, 2021 at 12:38 PM EDT - Updated April 22 at 12:38 PM
SARASOTA, Fla. (WWSB) - The Suncoast’s first loggerhead sea turtle nest of the season has been documented in Venice, researchers say.
Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium’s Sea Turtle Conservation & Research Program says the nest was spotted Thursday, just north of the public Venice Beach area.
Mote began monitoring Sarasota area beaches April 15, and volunteers saw the telltale signs of a nest during their patrol early Thursday morning. Turtle tracks, called a crawl, were seen leading from the water up to a nest, and other clues in the sand were used to identify the nest itself and the species that created the nest.