Virginia Beach, Va. - Sea turtle nesting sites in Virginia Beach will be marked with posts, self-releasing screens, and signage, thanks to new efforts from the Virginia Aquarium.
The Virginia Aquarium Stranding Response Team has begun a sea turtle nesting monitoring program with funding assistance from the Dominion Foundation.
Trained volunteers and staff members will patrol the beaches to actively monitor and document evidence that a sea turtle has nested. Once a nesting site is identified, it will be marked with posts, a self-releasing screen, and signage identifying the nest as a locally and federally protected area.
Response Team members will monitor the nest until it hatches.
Sea turtles typically nest between May and August, and Virginia Beach has been home to 111 nests since 1970. The nests have been from three species: loggerheads, greens, and Kemp’s ridleys. In 2014, two nests were identified and monitored.
If a sea turtle or a nest is discovered, please call the Virginia Aquarium Stranding Response Team’s 24-hour hotline at 757-385-7575.
