Washback Turtles Coming Up On Our Beaches

Daytona Beach, FL – Sea turtle eggs are hatching and Volusia County Habitat Conservation Plan Program Manager Ryan Chabot is asking beachgoers to be on the lookout for them, especially in the seaweed. Chabot says that after the long swim, the turtles are tired. Weather conditions will sometimes push the seaweed to shore and then you have washbacks.  "If the general public finds washbacks that’s great for them to let Beach Safety know.  We also have our Washback Watchers volunteer program where individuals are trained to specifically go out when there are those influxes of seaweed and search for the stranded washback turtles." This year saw a reported eight hundred eighty sea turtle nests on our beaches, according to Chabot. That makes for a lot of hatchlings swimming out to the seaweed line and some of them get washed back. "We have about five to 15 nests hatching per night and those hatchlings all kind of hatch at the same time.  When they reach the water, they’ll swim for a few days non-stop until they get to the sargassum mass of seaweed."  To find out more about helping the sea turtles, visit volusia.org