Destin-Fort Walton Beach Sea Turtle Patrol

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Destin-Fort Walton Beach Sea Turtle Patrol

This is the official page for the Destin-Fort Walton Beach Sea Turtle Patrol.

This group operates under Marine Turtle Permit #251 issued by Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Here you will find all of the important information related to the sea turtle nesting season in Destin-Fort Walton Beach which runs from May 1 – October 31. If you encounter a nesting female or an injured sea turtle, please call the FWC Wildlife Hotline at 888-404-3922.

09/01/2026

We only had a few nests standing after Tropical Storm Bertha as the storm surge washed out the majority of our nests. On Sunday, we evaluated Nest #03 in front of Seaspray Condos on Okaloosa Island.

This nest experienced some wash over during the storm, but the eggs and stakes all stayed in place. We were hopeful this one would produce some hatchlings for us, but unfortunately we found 104 unhatched eggs. The wash over from the storm caused development to stop during incubation.

Bertha brought us some heartbreak this year, but we know storms are all part of Mother Nature. And our patrol team hasn't let her bring our spirits down! Although, you may not be able to tell in one of these photos 😆 Bob may have shed a tear or two... The team continues to survey every morning with a positive attitude! We are so happy to see nests continuing to be laid in our area and we are hopeful for a productive and dry season next year! 🐢💚

All of the surveying, nest marking, monitoring, and evaluation work conducted by this group is permitted through the FWC Marine Turtle Program under MTP # 26-251.

08/31/2026

Meet the Team Monday 👋

Please give a big warm welcome to Rebecca! 🤗 This is her first year with the Sea Turtle Patrol Team!

Rebecca moved here from the UK and immediately got involved in sea turtle conservation! She has been a volunteer with the Gulfarium C.A.R.E. Center for almost three years now.

She has such a passion for protecting our turtles and loves how each turtle has their own characteristics and personality. And the passion doesn't end with her! Her son, Charlie, has tagged along on every single morning survey this summer! What 9 year old do you know that willingly gets up at 4 am?! Charlie and Rebecca even found a loggerhead nest this season 💚

We are so grateful to have Rebecca on our team this year and we look forward to watching Charlie learn and grow his passion for protecting sea turtles 🐢❤️

08/21/2026

Happy Friday everyone 😍

We are getting into sea turtle nest hatching season so please make sure you are keeping our beaches EXTRA clean, flat, and dark to ensure our new babies have a safe and easy journey to the ocean! 🐢🩵

08/04/2026

🐢❓ What do you do if you come across a nesting sea turtle? ❓🐢

🔇 Be QUIET
🔦 Turn ALL lights off - this includes your phone flashlight, flash photography, and even your red turtle-friendly flashlight
🌝 Give her plenty of space - at least 50 feet
☎ CALL our Sea Turtle Hotline (850) 461-2885

Sea turtles usually come ashore to nest at night because the cooler temperatures and darkness help them avoid predators, reduce heat stress, and conserve moisture while they lay their eggs. Dark, quiet beaches are essential because artificial lights, noise, and human activity can disturb nesting females and disorient hatchlings, making it harder for them to reach the ocean safely.

Be a Sea Turtle Hero and keep our beaches CLEAN, FLAT, and DARK! 💚

08/03/2026

Meet the Team Monday 👋

Say hi to Joanna! 😁

Joanna has been part of the team for three years now and I think we have many, many more seasons with her! She goes above and beyond to stay involved and get out on the beach for surveys. Right now, she is surveying 4 days per week! And she always shows up with a bright smile on her face 🤩

Joanna is Registered Nurse and has been specializing in family needs over the past few years. A secret talent that she has is that she composes music on the piano. She also wanted to share that she can blow tiny spit bubbles off of her tongue 😆

She has fond memories of seeing her first sea turtle snorkeling in Hawaii and has admired their determination and beauty ever since. Her favorite part of being on the team is getting to evaluate hatched nests and finding hatchlings that get to be released to the ocean ❤️

Joanna is a huge advocate for our sea turtles and we are so thankful to have her on our team! She surveys in Destin Sunday - Wednesday so make sure you say "hi" if you see her!

07/30/2026

A lot of you have been asking why there isn’t more information about sea turtles in the beachfront properties.. We have good news! We have flyers, window clings, and table tents available for FREE for any beachfront property that wants them! 🎉

We try hard to get our messaging out to our locals and visitors about how to protect our sea turtles but we can’t reach everybody.. We need your help! If you own or manage beachfront property and want materials, let us know! If you’re staying on the beach, see if the property will display some of our materials!

Every person that we can educate is beneficial to our sea turtles and will help create a safe environment for them to nest! 🐢❤️

If you’d like some of these FREE materials, send us a message or send an email to [email protected]. Help us protect the sea turtles! We know you all love them just as much as we do!

This project is funded in part through the Sea Turtle Grants Program. The Sea Turtle Grants Program is funded from proceeds from the sale of the Florida Sea Turtle License Plate. Learn more at www.helpingseaturtles.org.

07/28/2026

Last night, we had a sea turtle come ashore to nest. Unfortunately, she was met by multiple groups of people surrounding her with flashlights and phone lights. Instead of nesting, she turned around and returned to the water.

By the time our survey team arrived this morning, her tracks had been completely erased by footprints. There was no sign that a turtle had even come onto the beach.

We can't stress this enough: if you encounter a nesting sea turtle, please give her plenty of space. Stay quiet. Turn off all lights. Watch from a distance. A nesting turtle is already under enough stress without people crowding around her.

This message feels especially important right now. Over the past week, Tropical Storm Bertha washed away 18 of our 22 sea turtle nests. Every single new nest is now more valuable than ever.

When nesting turtles are repeatedly disturbed, they may abandon their nesting attempts or choose to nest elsewhere. If that continues, we won't have nests on our beaches—and without nests, there won't be hatchlings emerging from our shoreline later this season.

We know people are excited to see these incredible animals, and we love that so many care about them. But the best way to help is to let them do what they came here to do. Admire them from a respectful distance, keep the beach dark and quiet, and give them the opportunity to successfully nest.

Please help us protect our sea turtles by sharing this message. Every nest matters.

07/22/2026

🌀Tropical Storm Bertha Update🌀

Unfortunately, Bertha did some serious damage to our beaches and our nests. Only 4 of our 22 nests "survived" the storm. We use the term survived lightly because they all still experienced high amounts of wash over and inundation.

GPS coordinates are taken of each nest along with beach measurements (distance from the nest to the dune and water) so we are hoping we may be able to locate the eggs again and re-mark the nest for evaluation.

Thank you to everyone who has called to let us know about stakes washing out or eggs on the beach! And to all of you for caring so much about our sea turtles and their safety! We know events like this aren't easy, but this is what mother nature does. If you find a nesting sea turtle, hatchlings, or eggs on the beach, give us a call! ☎️ (850) 461-2885

Be kind to our volunteers as you see them out on the beach these next few days! This is a heavy loss for them and they are working HARD to try to recover what they can. We couldn't do this without them! ❤🐢

All of the surveying, nest marking, monitoring, and evaluation work conducted by this group is permitted through the FWC Marine Turtle Program under MTP # 26-251.

07/21/2026

It's Turtle Tuesday!! 🐢💚

Although we are experiencing some high surf and rough conditions from Tropical Storm Bertha, we still want to highlight the most recent nesting activity we have gotten! 22 sea turtle nests have been laid on our beaches! 21 loggerhead nests and 1 green nest.

Bob and Jim got their third nest of the season this past week! We told them they need to start saving some for the rest of us.... 😆

Danie, Joanna, Rebecca, and Charlie also came across a loopy loggerhead false crawl.

With this rough water and high surf, our nests are getting washed over and, unfortunately, washed out. We try to let mother nature take her course and our turtles are stronger than you think! We hope the majority of our nests can survive this storm and that we get many more laid on our beaches after it passes 🤞

☎ If you come across a sea turtle on the beach, a nest, hatchlings on the beach, or a nest that is washing out, please call our Sea Turtle Hotline (850) 461-2885

All of the surveying, nest marking, and evaluation work conducted by this group is permitted through the FWC Marine Turtle Program under MTP # 26-251.

07/20/2026

Meet the Team Monday 👋

We are introducing a new team member today! Everybody, meet Lisa! 😁 (she's the one on the right!)

Persistence pays off! After applying more than once, she finally snagged a spot on the team—and we couldn't be happier to welcome her aboard. We have a feeling all those applications and messages were a sign she'd be a perfect fit.

Lisa has a background in marine biology and has been itching to get back into it after being in the Army and then working as a registered nurse.

We are so happy to have Lisa on the team and love the passion she has for our sea turtles! She has already found a couple nests this season and we can guarantee there will be more to come! 💚🐢

Address

1540 Miracle Strip Pkwy SE
Fort Walton Beach, FL
32548

Telephone

+18506095381

Website

https://www.destinfwb.com/explore/eco-tourism/turtles/

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