Sea turtles are having a big summer on Volusia County’s beaches.

ClickOrlando reported that 714 sea turtle nests had been recorded by Friday, well above the previous record of 470 set three years ago.

The rebound follows what ClickOrlando described as a particularly slow 2025 season.

Most of the nests being monitored are from loggerhead turtles, but leatherbacks, green sea turtles, and Kemp’s ridley sea turtles have also been recorded.

Volunteer Susie Amaro of the Volusia Turtle Patrol told ClickOrlando the numbers point to something beyond one strong season.

“This year is proof that they are resilient, they do come back to the beach again and again in spite of whatever happened in the years prior,” Amaro said.

Officials told the outlet the surge may reflect the long-term effects of conservation policies adopted decades ago.

“A lot of it, we think, comes from the Endangered Species Act and Marine Turtle Protection Act, those went into place in the ‘70s, and it takes about 25-30 years for turtles to reach sexual maturity and get into that breeding population,” Volusia County Habitat Conservation Plan Program Field Manager Nicole Weiss told ClickOrlando.

Many of the turtles nesting now are believed to have first hatched on Volusia County’s beaches, a behavior called natal homing.

ClickOrlando also reported that Boca Raton, Florida, saw a record-breaking number of leatherback turtle nests this season.

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