The Odds of Hatchlings Making it to Adulthood

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Collier County Mean Clutch Size (egg count per nest) for 2025, which includes Marco Island, taken from the 2025 Collier County Sea Turtle Protection Plan.

Sea Turtle activity.pdf

At the five Collier County beaches monitored by the Sea Turtle Protection Program in 2025 (Barefoot Beach, Vanderbilt, Park Shore, Naples and Marco Island) there was recorded a total of 106,992 eggs deposited into the evaluated nests, and 86,565 hatchlings were presumed to have entered the Gulf. For Marco Island beach, 6,155 hatchlings emerged in 2025.

According to sea turtle experts, the survival rate for hatchlings is very low, with roughly 0.1% making it to adulthood. For every thousand tiny hatchlings that make it to the surf, only one will survive to adulthood. Using this projection for Marco (6,155 hatchlings emerged in 2025), about SIX hatchlings are expected to reach adulthood!

For the mother sea turtle, it’s an odds game and by producing hundreds of eggs per clutch, she is hoping that at least a few will survive to start the next generation. On Marco Island in 2025, the average number of eggs per nest (clutch) was 101 eggs.

There are numerous pitfalls on land for the hatchlings and every second counts. If they wait too long to emerge from the nest, the baking sun is a killer; moving too fast and they attract the quick eye of birds and other predators above and the moment you think they’ve made it to the water’s edge, they fall into a deep sand pit!

So, it is okay to pick up a baby sea turtle and carry it to the ocean – just to make sure it makes it? According to sea turtle experts, “Generally, no. Handling can disrupt their natural instinct to navigate back to the water. Best to observe from a distance and contact experts, if needed.

For September, hatchlings all over Collier County beaches and on Marco Island are making their way to their ocean home – please fill your holes and remove all man-made objects from the beach. It’s one hatchling in a thousand that will survive to adulthood.