MANATEE COUNTY, Fla. — Sea turtle nesting season officially begins May 1, and already crews are out patrolling the beaches searching for nests.

What You Need To Know

  • Chuck Anderson has volunteered with Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shoreboard Monitoring every nesting season for the past seven years

  • Last year, AMI Turtle Watch found a record number of 685 nests on the beach

  • But they say impacts from hurricanes Helene and Milton led to more than 400 of those nests not hatching

  • On May 1, the organization is hosting an event to honor the legacy of Suzi Fox, its founder

“You never know what you are going to see or what you are going to find. That’s what keeps it fresh,” said Chuck Anderson, a volunteer with Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shoreboard Monitoring.

It was an early start for Anderson when we spoke with him as he patrolled Manatee Public Beach in Holmes Beach.

His mission is always the same: look for sea turtle nests.

“If it is a nest, we’ll mark it off and collect that data," Anderson said. "That goes into the database for the state, and we monitor that nest for the entire season until after it’s hatched."

It’s the second week of patrols for the group, and no nests have been found. Anderson has volunteered with the group every nesting season for the past seven years.

“We put a lot into this every year,” Anderson said.

Last year, AMI Turtle Watch found a record number of 685 nests on the beach. But they say impacts from hurricanes Helene and Milton led to more than 400 of those nests not hatching.

“It would have been astronomical had we not had the hurricanes,” Anderson said.

Now, looking ahead to this year, Anderson says nesting might be difficult for the sea turtles.

“Normally they’ll come up to the dunes, but we’ve lost most of the dunes on the island because of the hurricanes we just went through into ’24. That’s created a big problem,” he explained.

He says without the cover from the dunes, lighting can disrupt the process.

“What we’re most concerned about is the turtles being disoriented by the lighting from all the condos and houses. When they disorient, they may continue to crawl into the street,” said Anderson.

But he and his crew his crew of volunteers will keep moving forward — searching the beach and educating the public to keep sea turtles safe.

On May 1, the organization is hosting an event to honor the legacy of Suzi Fox, its founder, at Coquina Beach Lifeguard Tower 9 from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Fox died in 2022.