Sea turtle hatching season starts in SC, Hilton Head Island sees first hatchling

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. (WTGS) — Sea turtle hatching season began on South Carolina beaches and Hilton Head Island has a few of its own.

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Hilton Head Island saw its first hatchling on July ninth and officials with Sea Turtle Patrol HHI, a nonprofit organization said sea turtle nesting season is an exciting but crucial time.

“This is when it gets critical. The hatching season because the adults will be discouraged from nesting if someone approaches them with a flashlight, they’ll try again later in the night. It’s not a complete loss. We’ve never had an adult sea turtle nesting fall into a hole yet,” said Amber Kuehn, Sea Turtle Patrol HHI Director.

Seat Turtle Patrol HHI monitors and supports the community on sea turtle nesting and hatching.

“The hatchlings are so much more vulnerable because of their size and how many we have on the beach, there is always going to be more interaction. So, for every adult sea turtle laying a nest we have 120 eggs in that nest and they lay four to six of them in a season. One adult sea turtle is going to produce over 700 hatchlings,” said Kuehn.

For beachgoers during the day and especially at night, Kuehn says there are a few important things to keep in mind.

“Just remember you must always stand behind the turtles. Whether their adults or hatchlings because they will try to avoid you and if you have a white light the hatchlings are going to follow you and I do not recommend having them be guided into the surf. That is not acceptable. If you see them turn it off. If you have a red flashlight you can view it from behind,” said Kuehn.

As of Friday 14 out of the 348 nests have hatched so far.

The organization also has classes called free turtle talks where you can find out more about nesting sea turtles and their hatchlings.

Meetings are every Monday in June, July and August from 8 to 9 p.m., at Lowcountry Celebration Park located at 94 pope avenue.