JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Due to social distancing regulations, researchers are crossing their fingers for a bigger nesting season for sea turtles.
“If you don’t have humans, these guys are going to come in by the truckload,” said Kevin Brown with the Beaches Sea Turtle Patrol.
Despite less foot traffic, no one quite knows how the season will turn out.
“You know, there’s no way to predict,” said Brown, adding that it comes down to Mother Nature.
Mother turtles could start laying eggs in places they normally don’t like commercial areas.
“They may come on up and, nobody’s here, I’m nesting,” said Brown.
When open, locals know not to mess with the nests. It’s throngs of visiting sunbathers that Brown fears won’t know to leave the nests alone.
“As long as these beaches are closed, those guys have free reign of the beach and nobody’s going to be bothering them," said Brown.
Turtle and nest safety depends on how the beaches are fully re-opened. On Thursday, Mayor Lenny Curry announced that Duval beaches are going to reopen Friday with limited hours and regulations.
If crowds are back on the beach by July, when eggs begin to hatch, there could be more nests to look out for.
The swarm of people could also be dangerous to baby turtles trying to crawl to the sea.