Record Sea Turtle Nesting Season on St. John
PRESS RELEASE — In the sea turtle nesting season that begun with the June 30, 2025 discovery of a nest and ended with the final nest excavation on February 19, 2026, a record 3,597 hatchlings made it to the sea, according to the 2025 Virgin Islands National Park Sea Turtle Program Season Report published this month by the Friends of Virgin Islands National Park’s team.
While the most commonly sighted species in the waters around St. John is the green, most nests laid on the island’s beaches are hawksbill. This season, a record 44 nests were laid of which 37 were hawksbill and 7 were green. The number of green nests laid was another record.
“These results are a credit to conservation efforts across the Virgin Islands and around the world to protect these beautiful endangered creatures,” said Tonia Lovejoy, Executive Director, Friends of Virgin Islands National Park. “The work of our small, dedicated team depends heavily on an incredible community of 75 trained volunteers who reside on St. John and help survey 45 beaches for nesting activity throughout the season. We thank them wholeheartedly for their commitment and passion. The difference they make is noteworthy in this report.”
The Virgin Islands National Park Sea Turtle Program begun in 2015 and is funded and managed by Friends of Virgin Islands National Park. The program aims to protect sea turtle nests, facilitate research projects, and spread awareness of sea turtle conservation in the Park and its surrounding waters including the Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument. The work encompasses nest protection, volunteer beach monitoring, research, and visitor and community outreach including education outreach with schools on St. John and St. Thomas.
Youth, Visitor and Mariner Education And Outreach
Fostering a passion for conservation drives a comprehensive youth education program that includes pre-k to 12th graders on St. John and St. Thomas. This season 1,522 youth were reached through School Kids In the Park trips, Summer Camp Eco-classes, Summer Trail Crew and events like Earth Day with fun interactive learning experiences covering sea turtle ecology, life cycle, nesting, and threats.
“Our visitor outreach initiatives are geared towards informing the public about general sea turtle biology, mineral based sunscreen, snorkeling etiquette and best practices,” said Willow Melamet, Sea Turtle Program Coordinator, Friends of Virgin Islands National Park. “Seminars, events and interactive displays reached over 1,300 people and will continue to be a priority.”
Similarly, mariner outreach and education remains important as boat strikes are the leading cause of sea turtle strandings in the USVI and the main cause of mortality documented on St. John. Educating boaters on the existence of the STAR network which operates across the Virgin Islands is key. STAR’s contact number for injured sea turtle stranding and sightings across the Virgin Islands is (340) 690-0474.
Photographic Identification and Research
The Virgin Islands National Park Sea Turtle Program has been cataloging underwater photographs of sea turtles dating back to 2012 using unique facial markings to identify green sea turtles in Maho Bay, St. John, USVI. In addition to identification, these photographs aid in fibropapillomatosis monitoring as well as wound and injury monitoring for stranded individuals through the STAR network. Three additional survey locations were added to the project this year, yielding 45 new individuals across all sites.
This is a continuation of the important work published in a paper by Friends program team members, Adren Anderson and Willow Melamet and entitled: Using photo-ID to monitor the status of fibropapillomatosis in green turtles at Maho Bay, St. John, United States Virgin Islands (Marine Turtle Newsletter. October 2025). The paper discusses how facial markings are used to track sea turtles and monitor the status of FP in a foraging population in order to establish a baseline to aid in future research and management decisions.
A copy of the 2025 Virgin Islands National Park Sea Turtle Program Season Report and more information on sea turtle protection on St. John can be found on the Friends of Virgin Islands National Park’s website at www.friendsvinp.org/sea-turtle/.
