Anna Maria Island breaks record for turtle nesting after 40 years

ANNA MARIA ISLAND. Fla. (SNN) — While many beach-goers are enjoying the summer heat and waves, thousands of eggs are harvesting just a foot under the sand.

With the help of conservation efforts, there have been over 560 sea turtle nests on Anna Maria Island.

“We broke our 40-year-old record and basically we started back in 1983 monitoring, and we never had a year that has exceeded 543 loggerhead nests,” said Kristen Mazzarella, Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch director.

Mazarella said we can expect to see more turtle nests within the next couple of weeks.

“It is a great thing for the population of the turtle,” Mazzarella said. “It means that the population is growing and our conversation efforts are working.”

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