How did sea turtles on HHI fare through Debby?

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, SC (WSAV) – It is tough enough for sea turtles to make it out of their nests and to the ocean.

But did Tropical Storm Debby make this endangered species journey even tougher?

Hilton Head Island has reported 195 sea turtle nests so far this season. That is lower than normal already.

Tropical Storm Debby had many folks concerned about the already endangered sea turtles, and the conditions of their nests from the storm.

Amber Kuehn of Sea Turtle Patrol Hilton Head Island says so far, only one nest was lost during Debby, but she isn’t sure what the future may hold for the Island’s littlest residents.

“When we had ten inches of rain the beach can’t percolate that much water,” said Amber Kuehn. “It starts with standing water. If there’s standing water in the nest it could be deadly. The one thing that the hatchlings really need is a dry environment. There’s a gas exchange in the egg chamber. So, if that water inundating the nest, when we go in to count and inventory in the near future we have some major losses on the beach.”

“There’s no way to prevent it,” explains Amber. “It’s nature and it would have happened to them regardless. We do our best to mark the nest to get, you know, the human impact under control. But nature, you just can’t you can’t manage that so well.”

Sea turtle season extends through September. Amber says 74 have hatched, there are still 120 nests out there and she hopes they all make it to the ocean.

If you would like to learn more about sea turtles: https://seaturtlepatrolhhi.org/