ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. – Sea turtle nesting season begins May 1, and St. Johns County officials are asking residents, visitors, and businesses to help protect the turtles’ natural habitat by observing all nesting season laws and regulations.
The beaches of St. Johns County are home to several species of endangered or threatened sea turtles.
Recommended Videos
From May 1 to Oct. 31, St. Johns County staff will close vehicular beach access gates promptly at 7:30 p.m. and reopen them at 8 a.m. to allow nesting sea turtles to have a safe beach throughout the night.
Beach visitors can have a positive impact on nesting sea turtles by taking the following actions while enjoying the beach:
- Do not use fireworks and open fires; they are illegal.
- Remove ruts and sandcastles at the end of your beach day.
- Do not leave beach chairs or canopies on the beach overnight.
- Flashlights are strongly discouraged, as they can harm sea turtles.
- Avoid entering dunes and conservation zones (15 feet seaward of the dune line).
- Do not release balloons, which can fall into the ocean and harm marine life; their release is also illegal.
- Never approach sea turtles emerging from or returning to the sea. Nesting sea turtles are vulnerable, timid, and easily frightened away.
While May 1 is the official start of the season, turtles can arrive and lay eggs early.
The earliest recorded nesting in St. Johns County was March 12, 2012, and 2025 has already seen a leatherback sea turtle make a nest at Mickler’s Landing on April 7.
Concerted efforts by St. Johns County have seen excellent results for sea turtles nesting on the county’s beaches, including multiple nests built by the critically endangered Kemp’s ridley sea turtle during the 2024 nesting season and a historic rebound for green sea turtles during the 2023 season.
Never push an injured animal back into the ocean. If you encounter an injured, sick, or deceased sea turtle, please call the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office non-emergency dispatch line at 904-824-8304.
Leave only your footprints, providing the turtles with a safe and clean habitat to nest and hatch.
St. Johns County is grateful to volunteers, residents, visitors, and businesses for supporting habitat conservation efforts and keeping our beaches beautiful.
For more information on those efforts and how you can help, call St. Johns County Habitat Conservation and Beach Management at 904-209-3740, visit the Habitat Conservation web page or Recycle St. Johns, sign up for The Curbside Times newsletter, and consider attending the Turtletown USA Beach Cleanup on Saturday, May 10.