PANAMA CITY BEACH — Though sea turtle nests and hatchling numbers are up from last year, 2022 has brought an uptick in another startling statistic.

According to Kennard Watson, president of the Panama City Beach Turtle Watch, about 80% of the more than 2,000 hatchlings located in the area so far this year have been disoriented by beachfront lighting, meaning they were found traveling inland and not toward the Gulf of Mexico. 

For Watson, this is a clear indicator that more needs to be done by officials to improve beachfront lighting and make it more accommodating for local wildlife. 

"The effects of artificial lighting on the beach have never been worse," he said. "Disorientation rates are running at record levels. ... That is probably the single dominant threat to sea turtles on our beach — the issue of beachfront lighting, which is not getting any better."

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As of Monday, Watson said members of his group have tagged 44 nests so far this nesting season. While this is only one more nest than he reported at the beginning of August, it still is 17 more than were found along the local coast during all of 2021.

Sea turtle nesting season spans from the beginning of May to the end of October.

"We're having a good season, both in terms of nesting and hatching," Watson said.

He noted that about half of the nests already have hatched. While he did not know how the 2,000 hatchlings found this year compares to past years, he said it probably is close to a record. 

Watson also said June and July typically are the highest nesting months. Most hatchlings emerge between the end of July and the end of October. 

It takes about two months for the nests to hatch, however, and that can fluctuate depending on a few different factors.

"Sand temperature is the dominant variable," Watson said. "Cooler temperatures tend to extend incubation, and warmer temperatures shorten incubation, but in general it takes about 60 days."

He said a main reason this nesting season has gone particularly well for hatchlings is because there have not been any major storms so far in the area to destroy nests. Only one local nest found this year was completely washed out, meaning it flooded and its eggs were destroyed.

Although it is unlikely that more sea turtles will come ashore this year to nest, Watson said it is not impossible. There are some species of sea turtles, including green sea turtles, that are known to nest later in the season.

This species laid the lone nest found in August. It is one of two nests found so far this year not laid by loggerhead sea turtles. 

"It's possible we could see another green turtle come up on the beach to nest, but for loggerheads, the nesting season is pretty much over. "We've had a very quiet storm season, which has enabled nests to incubate without being flooded by surf."