Hundreds come out to Run for the Turtles

Coming off a record-setting 2016 sea turtle season, the team at Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium are gearing up to do it again. 

But before Mote begins monitoring nests and counting eggs, they hosted the 31st annual Run for the Turtles. 

The race, which attracted between 800 and 1,000 competitors to Siesta Key Public Beach on April 1, benefitted Mote's Sea Turtle Conservation and Research Program. 

Last year's count shows about 1,500 nests hatched on Longboat Key and Siesta Key shores. 

It's tough for researchers to truly know the impact of their work, since sea turtles don't reach maturity until they are around 30 years old. Therefore, researchers won't conclusively know how last year's season will impact sea turtle populations for at least another 30 years. 

However, those numbers do suggest an encouraging trend. Kristen Mazzarella, a senior biologist with Mote's Sea Turtle Conservation and Research Program, said the Mote's research and conservation program was created 36 years ago, which suggests their efforts are being rewarded. 

"We think what we're seeing is from the efforts that were started 35 years ago," Mazzarella said.