Want to help Georgia's sea turtles thrive? We talked to a few experts for some tips

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03-07-2025

As of June 13, nearly 940 sea turtle nests had been identified along Georgia's coast. One egg from each of those nests has been split open and emptied into a test tube.
Don't fret. Each nest's clutch (the group term for reptile offspring) typically consists of 120 to 170 eggs. Every sacrificial embryo serves the greater purpose of tracking sea turtle ancestry. Biologists like Veterinary Tech Sarah Alley of the Tybee Island Marine Science Center catalogues the maternal DNA captured from eggs placed in the test tubes. The tubes are then passed on to the Mark Dodd, the sea turtle program coordinator for the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Wildlife Conservation Section. He is a senior wildlife biologist who works with University of Georgia (UGA) Senior Research Scientist Brian Shamblin to compile the DNA and nesting data from the dozen members of the Georgia Sea Turtle Cooperative at Seaturtle.org.
All that data contributes to groups like the Caretta Research Project's tracking of turtles' migration patterns. A more recent collaboration between Caretta and the University of Florida is also closely examining what and where sea turtles eat.
As Caretta's Education and Outreach Coordinator Kristen Zemaitis explained, sea turtles play important roles in the broader oceanic food web. They can be a key indicator of ocean ecosystem health, which is why their preservation is crucial.
After concerning dips in sea turtle populations between the 1960s and early 1990s, concerted conservation efforts by the Cooperative over the last few decades have helped restore turtle numbers. More efforts can be done, however, even by the everyday beachgoer and tourist.
Before sea turtles obtained federal protections under the Endangered Species Act, Dodd said humans regularly poached eggs for protein or out of novelty. Sea turtle eggs must still contend with predators such as coyotes, wild boars, raccoons, seagulls and even burrowing Ghost Crabs, among others. The turtles themselves must evade sharks and other larger water-dwelling predators below surface before they ever even make it to sexual maturity, let alone come ashore to nest.
Human behaviors also still impact turtles. Everything from boat propellers to plastic pollution to, yes, even sandcastles can imperil turtles and their nesting habits.
All the experts interviewed for this story shared variations of these steps that anyone can take to assist ongoing conservation efforts:
Level the sand of your beach area―fill holes and stomp down sandcastles before you head home from a beach day, because holes can trap turtles and mounds can deter them from nesting
Place trash in designated bins, especially plastics such as straws, bottles and broken beach toys, which can all make their way into the water and be consumed by all manner of sea life.
Do not disturb turtles or their nests, including not using bright lights at night or before dawn while traversing the beach.
While boating, be mindful of speed along the coastline as turtles are harder to spot than dolphins or pelicans.
While fishing in the ocean, know that a bated hook may attract turtles and can snag them. Call DNR if this happens as hook removal could require a turtle being taken to the Georgia Sea Turtle Center on Jekyll Island.
Zemaitis underscored the need for humans to mind their consumption. "Even if you live far from the coast and don't think you have impact," she said, stressing that tons of trash and non-biodegradable items wind up in the ocean. She shared an example of balloons found in the Atlantic that had been tracked back to Alabama.
Should any early morning or late night beachgoer come across a gravid turtle or the remnants of its nesting excursion, conservationists encourage the public to contact a local sea turtle organization or Georgia DNR. Do not attempt to handle the situation yourself, especially because federal protections come with hefty fines.
Only trained professionals and volunteers with proper credentials should be interacting with turtles and their nests.
On June 6, Tammy Smith, a Tybee Island Maritime Academy teacher and volunteer sea turtle conservationist, found the island's sixth nest between 18th and 19th streets. (Tybee had eight nests as of this publication.) The turtle engraved the perfect parabola of a path up the shoreline, though Alley said given the incline the turtle likely laid the eggs where it tired out. When done, the turtle completed its U-shaped path back into the water leaving its babies behind forever.
Alley said turtles are resilient creatures. The act of laying 120+ eggs over a few hours is a mountainous effort seeing as how turtles need to drag their 200- to 400-pound bodies onto the shore with naught but their bellies and flippers, which cut cleanly through water but flap about on the sand.
Beyond possible human alterations to sand, Zemaitis and Alley said that conditions like sea-level rise and beach erosion present nesting challenges. Both issues lead to less real estate for nesting. Higher tide lines, particularly on Georgia's coast, mean more instances of nests being inundated, which could drown sea turtle babies within their soft, porous eggs. Erosion can cause steep beach inclines that result in turtles nesting much closer to the tide lines than might be effective for survival, which is what happened with the June 6 turtle. Erosion could also deter sea turtles altogether by making their trips ashore too exhausting to pursue. They could then return to the water where predators might wait, ready to attack a tired mother.
Smith and Alley relocated the June 6 eggs by carefully lifting them out of the initial hole and then placing them just as carefully into one Smith had pre-dug just before the dune grass. "Reptile eggs are temperature dependent with how the sexes develop," Alley said. The last eggs the turtle had laid on top were closer to the warm beach surface and therefore more likely to become female. Conversationists do not want to disrupt that natural order, so Alley explained that they move the turtle eggs by placing the top eggs from the nest at the bottom of the carrier, so that the relocation nest has eggs returned to their original birth order.
Alley and Smith then covered the new hole and placed a predator-deterring grate over it. To ensure humans do not disturb the nest by walking or riding ATV wheels over it, Alley and Smith tapped in three wooden slats, attached a written notice to one and used yellow DNR sea turtle nest tape to rope it off.
As you plan your next family or solo outing or perhaps a beach date on a Georgia barrier island, consider adjusting your timeline for a dawn stroll or a midnight walk. Be mindful of the beach rules and regulations, but enjoy the exercise and your company or lack thereof as you scan for turtles shuffling ashore.
Should you happen upon one in the late or early hours, keep your distance, observe and remain in awe, not only of nature taking its course but of how slight alterations to human behavior and awareness can help restore a natural order.
If you do not come across a sea turtle, don't worry, all manner of wildlife awaits. You could spot migrating and foraging birds of many stripes feeding upon Horseshoe, Ghost and blue grabs scuttling along the shoreline. Perhaps a coyote on the prowl for turtle eggs.
At the very least, you can walk and simply welcome the laughs of gulls, the slosh of the waves and the crunch of sand and seashells underfoot as the sun rises over parting pre-dawn clouds.
Joseph Schwartzburt is the education and workforce development reporter for the Savannah Morning News. You can reach him at [e-mail] and JoeInTheKnow_SMN on Instagram.
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: How to help Georgia sea turtle conservation efforts this summer