Loggerhead Marinelife Center Documents First-Ever Olive Ridley Sea Turtle Nest in Florida
Juno Beach, Fla. (May 27, 2026) – Loggerhead Marinelife Center (LMC) has documented the first-ever olive ridley sea turtle nest in Florida on Monday, May 18. LMC researchers witnessed the sea turtle nesting on Jupiter Beach. The sea turtle, named “Tini,” is typically known to nest only on beaches in the southern Atlantic Ocean including Brazil, Trinidad, Suriname, and Gabon.
“Our team had been on the lookout for our usual third species of nesting turtles, green turtles, when this small and distinctive turtle came ashore to nest,” said Dr. Justin Perrault, Vice President of Research at LMC. “Olive ridley sea turtles are famous for their unique nesting strategies, which include solitary nesting and the ‘arribada,’ a mass-nesting event where thousands of females come ashore simultaneously.”
Olive ridley sea turtles are among the smallest species of sea turtles and are named for the olive-green color of their heart-shaped shells. Researchers believe several factors may explain why this rare sea turtle nested on a beach outside its typical nesting range, including a northward expansion of the species’ range driven by warming ocean temperatures, population growth, and increased fishing pressure leading to entanglement and the passive transport of injured turtles into Florida waters.
All data and information related to the nesting event were submitted to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWCC). The LMC team plans to collect genetic samples from the nest after hatching and monitor whether Tini returns to our local beaches to nest again this season.