‘A huge deal’: Sea turtle eggs found in Huntington Beach, Surfside are first on the U.S. West Coast
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Two makeshift enclosures recently erected in the cities of Huntington Beach and Seal Beach are protecting what could be an unprecedented discovery — the first recorded incidence of sea turtle eggs deposited on the United States West Coast.
What began last Wednesday as a sighting by lifeguards of what appeared to be an injured sea turtle in the sand has turned into a surprising revelation, as officials confirmed the presence of two nesting sites, in Surfside and south of the Huntington Beach Pier.
Trevor McDonald, a Marine Safety Division chief with the Huntington Beach Fire Department said lifeguards discovered the second nest while on patrol Saturday evening.
“They saw a turtle come up onto the sand and start digging a hole,” McDonald said Tuesday. “When our staff saw the turtle making a nesting spot, they immediately created a buffer zone to keep everybody back and keep the turtle safe and allow for the best chances of survival.”
By the time the sky had darkened into night the reptile, having covered the eggs, descended back into the ocean, leaving the fate of the tiny orbs to nature and its human protectors.
It is unknown whether the two spots are nests created by the same turtle, but the occasion is a historic one, according to the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, which quickly dispatched a team to Orange County to help barricade the areas and keep watch throughout the eggs’ incubation.
“This is the first-ever recorded natural nesting for any sea turtle species on the U.S. West Coast” the agency posted on social media Monday. “We urge beach goers to steer clear and not disturb the sites.”
McDonald confirmed an officer has been monitoring the Huntington Beach nest, which now has two separate barricades to ward off potential predators and keep human and vehicle traffic away from the vicinity.
“I’d never heard of turtles nesting in this area, but I didn’t know it was the first two instances ever along California’s coastline,” he said of the nests. “I didn’t know it was such a historic thing — it’s a huge deal.”
Here’s what we know so far:
◆ The turtle was an olive ridley sea turtle, one of the smallest species of marine turtles, which can weigh up to 100 pounds, reaching up to 3 feet in length and with lifespans of 30 to 50 years.
◆ Olive ridley turtles commonly live in the tropical waters of the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic oceans and build their nests on the beaches of Mexico, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama. Although seen following warm currents in Southern California, no documentation of egg laying there exists, until now.
◆ Deposited under a layer of sand, the eggs could take from 45 to 60 days to hatch, according to NOAA officials, so the area around them requires protection from incurring humans and animals.
◆ Sea turtles are protected under the Endangered Species Act, meaning individuals could face penalties for harming or disturbing the animals and their nests.
◆ Beachgoers are being asked to give the nesting sites plenty of space and are advised to report any sightings of stranded sea turtles by calling the NOAA Fisheries West Coast Stranding Hotline at (562) 506-4315 or online at facebook.com/NOAAFisheriesWestCoast.
In a post on social media Monday, Huntington Beach city officials confirmed a more permanent perimeter had been formed around the breeding area.
“[We are] grateful to our local, state and federal officials for their quick response and continued efforts to protect these sea turtles and their nesting sites,” the post read.
