Sea Turtle Rehabilitation Center Treats 21 Turtles After Record 2025 Nesting Season

Twenty-one turtles are receiving care at the Florida Aquarium Sea Turtle Rehabilitation Center in Apollo Beach. Nesting season has returned to state beaches after a record year in 2025. As of Wednesday, the facility housed 20 cold-stunned turtles. One turtle arrived tangled in fishing line and required a partial amputation.

Florida Fish and Wildlife counted a record number of nests in 2025 across 225 monitored beaches. Green turtles had 66,476 nests. That's the second-highest season on record after 77,042 nests in 2023.

Leatherback turtles set a new statewide record with 2,012 nests in 2025, breaking the previous high of 1,848 in 2022. The green sea turtle population was moved from the highly endangered category to a lesser concern status.

"We've always had a pretty good loggerhead population, but we are really excited that this year our green sea turtle population was actually removed from endangered species as being highly endangered to them, being a lesser concern of animal," said Alyssa Fessett, the manager of the Florida Aquarium Sea Turtle Rehabilitation Center in Apollo Beach, according to FOX 13.

The tangled turtle at the center is ready for release soon. Treatment time at the rehab center varies wildly — some patients stay three months while others need a full year, depending on their condition.

"Some of these turtles come in just a little bit skinny and maybe needing a little help with their bloodwork. Those are going to be the ones that get out quicker," Fessett said.

Workers are treating turtles with eye issues and other injuries. Veterinarians from the aquarium in Tampa come to the rehab center to check on the animals. Some need CT scans at the University of South Florida.

Biologists said there is still work to do. Record nesting numbers don't tell the whole story. "Sea turtles take a long time to mature. So, the things that happen to sea turtles now, we won't necessarily see those impacts until 60 years from now," Fessett said.

The public can help during nesting season by removing items from the beach and filling in divots or flattening sandcastles. Light can disorient turtles, so beachgoers should be mindful of that issue.

Nesting season lasts through October. "We're seeing the benefits of it, and I want my kid to see the benefits when she's an adult too," Fessett said.