Sea turtle nest numbers looking good, although latest waves take out 2 green turtle nests

Waves bashing the Treasure Coast are having a negligible effect on the annual monthslong sea turtle nesting season that appears to be ending up with normal or better numbers of successful nests, according to preliminary estimates.
The Treasure Coast is at the center of one of the largest sea turtle nesting areas in the world, so the outcome of each nesting season is important to the species' survival, scientists say.
The season had appeared destined for a record until midseason Hurricane Irene hit with outlying waves during August. Those washed out 17 percent of the loggerhead nests and 11 percent of the green sea turtle nests in one survey area in the middle of the Treasure Coast, said Ken Gioeli, a natural resources extension agent with the St. Lucie County Cooperative Extension.
Season totals are still being tabulated for most areas along the coast. Yet from what Gioeli has seen, "We had a fairly good year."
The nesting season ends in five days and virtually all the thousands of nests laid during the season previously hatched out, said Niki Desjardin, a scientist who help monitor nesting in Martin, St. Lucie and Indian River counties.
Green sea turtles are the last to nest. The latest round of waves only washed out two green sea turtle nests — one each in Martin and Indian River counties — during high tides this past weekend, she said.
Gioeli's assessment is based on a count of nests from the southern part of St. Lucie County to the St. Lucie Inlet in Martin County. In that area, there were 3,478 loggerhead turtle nests, 376 leatherback turtle nests and 243 green sea turtle nests.
Loggerhead turtles are the most common. Green and loggerhead turtles are rare.
In Gioeli's survey area, leatherback nesting was at a 31-year high, surpassing last year's 248. At the same time, green sea turtle nesting declined to a normal level, after a record of 390 in 2010, Gioeli said.
Indian River County sea turtle coordinator Rick Herren said both green and loggerhead nesting was the second highest in the past seven years in the area he surveys from Wabasso Beach to the south county line.
Anyone who sees eggs on the beaches should just leave them alone, Desjardin. "If they are rolling around, they probably are not viable," she said.