Florida's Coastal Triumph: Celebrating a Record-Breaking Season for Leatherback Turtles

Florida’s sea turtle nesting season is coming to a close, and this year’s numbers are turning heads across the state. Leatherback turtles, in particular, have had a record-breaking year.

Typically, Florida’s coastline sees about 1,000 to 1,500 leatherback nests each season. This year, though, state officials counted 2,021 nests as of late August—setting a new benchmark for 2025.

Globally, there are seven sea turtle species, and five of them call Florida home. Leatherbacks stand out—they’re the largest, weighing anywhere from 700 to 2,000 pounds and stretching four to eight feet long. While they’re the third most common nester on Florida beaches—trailing loggerheads and green turtles, but ahead of the rarer hawksbill and Kemp’s ridley—they remain a critical part of the state’s coastal ecosystem.

It’s also been a remarkable year for green turtle nesting. Nearly 62,000 green turtle nests have been documented, making 2025 the second-highest year on record for this species in Florida.

For anyone involved in marine conservation, these numbers are significant and signal a positive trend for sea turtle populations statewide.