First sea turtle nests ever recorded on the West Coast found at Huntington Beach and Seal Beach
NOAA Fisheries says two olive ridley turtles nested in Orange County in September; between 100 and 200 eggs were moved to the Aquarium of the Pacific ahead of forecast storm surf.
Two olive ridley sea turtles made history on Orange County beaches in September, laying the first sea turtle nests ever recorded on the U.S. West Coast, according to NOAA Fisheries.
The first turtle was spotted digging a nest and laying eggs near Seal Beach on September 16, discovered around 3 p.m. by a beachgoer who alerted Huntington Beach lifeguards. Three days later, about eight miles away, a second turtle was observed nesting near the Huntington Beach Pier. 'This is the first-ever recorded nest for any sea turtle species on the U.S. West Coast,' the agency wrote in a feature story published September 25.
Scientists first had to determine whether one turtle had nested twice or two turtles had nested once each. Dr. Cali Turner Tomaszewicz, a research biologist with the Southwest Fisheries Science Center's Marine Mammal and Turtle Division, compared photographs of the two animals, studying body shape, the number and location of barnacles, and each turtle's scute pattern, and concluded they were distinct individuals.
Out of caution, an inter-agency team collected the eggs and transferred them to the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach on September 25. Forecast high surf from tropical storms off Mexico threatened to erode the beach or wash the nests away, and biologists judged that incubation at the aquarium gave the estimated 100 to 200 eggs the best chance of survival. The eggs typically incubate 45 to 60 days; if they hatch, the young turtles will be released on the beaches where they were laid.
Monitoring continues. Each olive ridley typically nests two or three times a season, about two weeks apart in the same general area, so the beaches remain under watch for further nesting. The response has brought together NOAA Fisheries, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the cities of Huntington Beach and Seal Beach, the Aquarium of the Pacific, the U.S. Navy, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve. Anyone who sees a turtle on the beach should keep distance and notify lifeguards immediately.
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