Sea turtle nest discovered in Pass Christian

PASS CHRISTIAN, Miss. (WLOX) - For the first time since 2018, a sea turtle has laid a nest on the mainland of Mississippi.

The exciting discovery was spotted by Harrison County Sand Beach crews working just east of the Pass Christian Harbor. They called the Institute for Marine Mammal Studies in Gulfport, which quickly dispatched staff members to assess the site.

Sure enough, the experts at IMMS confirmed the mama’s tracks from the water to the nesting site, and back out into the Mississippi Sound. If you walk that section of the beach, you’ll see where they’ve marked the area off with stakes and flagging tape. Everyone is asked to avoid that area while the eggs are incubating.

If all goes well, we could expect to see baby turtles headed into the water in 50-60 days.

IMMS holds a permit with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to survey the beaches, mark, and monitor any nesting activities in Mississippi. They promise on their Facebook page to keep everyone updated on the nest, especially around the time they expect hatching.

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