Sea Turtles:  Marine Ambassadors

Welcome to the sea turtle education portion of the Escambia County Marine Extension website.  This site will provide general sea turtle information, local nesting and hatching data, and the whereabouts of the female turtles that we are tracking via satellite since they nested on our local beaches.

Loggerhead sea turtle returning to Gulf after nesting

Utilizing the same resources that we enjoy, sea turtles are ambassadors for our marine ecosystem.  The beaches we sun and play on are used for nesting, incubation, and hatching of sea turtle eggs.  Enjoy blue crab?  It is also a favorite food of loggerhead sea turtles.  Seagrass beds are nurseries for the shrimp and fish we catch.  These grasses also serve as food for the only herbivorous (plant-eating) sea turtle, the green sea turtle.  Most importantly, all of us depend on clean and healthy water.

All sea turtles are listed as threatened or endangered in Florida.  They remind us of how fragile our marine resources are.  If sea turtles are threatened, then so are the resources we enjoy and depend on.  Helping sea turtles survive means we're protecting the marine environment and resources for ourselves and future generations.