It’s been a record setting 2026 sea turtle nesting season here in the Palmetto State, with beaches all over South Carolina getting into the fun.
Sea turtles have laid the second most nests on South Carolina beaches in 2026 since record keeping began in the early 1980s, according to the S.C. Department of Natural Resources and data from SeaTurtle.org.
A whopping 8,094 loggerhead sea turtle nests were laid in this season on state beaches. Second only to a record of 8,798 set in 2019.
SCDNR oversees a network of volunteers who help staff count nests. Volunteers and staff from Hunting and Harbor islands have reported very high nest counts and beaches all over the Lowcountry and the rest of the state have reported the same.
As of the October 3rd, Hunting Island State Park has seen 230 nests; Fripp Island has had 101; Daufuskie Island has seen 128; Edisto Beach State Park has had 291 while Edisto town beach had 175; Hilton Head has seen 414; Pritchards Island has seen 86 nests; and Harbor Island has enjoyed 108 nests so far this season.
Even little Coffin Point Beach on St. Helena Island has had a record year with 41 nests. Smaller yet, Parris Island has even had 8 nests this year, which is unheard of.
The beach with the most nests in 2026 was Cape Island in the Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge near Myrtle Beach. Cape island saw a whopping 1,982 nests!
“This has been a tremendous season, and we are grateful for our dedicated network of volunteers in South Carolina who make this large-scale conservation effort happen,” said SCDNR.
Surprises along the way
The 2026 season began five days later than it usually does with an May 5th nest laid on Botany Bay near Edisto.
The last recorded nest was late this year, being found on Hobcaw Beach near Georgetown on September 5th.
Out of all the nests in South Carolina found in 2026, only 15 of them were endangered rare Green Turtles, and only one of them was an even rarer Kems Ridley sea turtle.
Hunting Island set a record of its own as well, with an amazing 230 nests this season. 2026 eclipsed the previous record of 195 nests found on Hunting Island in 2023.
The SCDNR began monitoring sea turtle nesting activities and strandings in the late 1970s. Information gained from this program contributes to ongoing sea turtle nest management and protection projects on all of the state’s beaches.
There are approximately 300 kilometers of ocean-facing sandy beaches in South Carolina that provide suitable nesting habitat for sea turtles. To date, loggerheads, green turtles, leatherbacks and rarely Kemp’s ridley sea turtle nests have been recorded on South Carolina beaches.
By far the most common nesting species is the loggerhead.
In South Carolina, nesting surveys and nest protection measures are carried out by a variety of public agencies such as the SCDNR, USFWS, South Carolina Department of Parks and Recreation and Coastal Carolina University. Several private organizations and numerous volunteers are also actively involved with sea turtle protection work.
Altogether, more than 1,500 individuals participate in nest monitoring activities in South Carolina each year. The data collected are crucial in monitoring populations, formulating protective regulations, making management decisions, and maximizing reproduction for recovery.
