MELBOURNE, Fla. — Officials are asking beachgoers to watch their step on Brevard County beaches as the end of sea turtle nesting season nears.

What You Need To Know

  • Baby sea turtles are washing back on shore due to strong winds and officials are asking beachgoers to watch out for them 

  • If one is found, they say you should not put them back in the water, but call the FWC Wildlife Alert Hotline at 888-404-FWCC

  • The turtles saved so far are being rehabilitated at the Brevard Zoo Sea Turtle Healing Center

Called "washbacks," strong winds are bringing back baby sea turtles on their way to the line of Sargassum seaweed dozens of miles offshore.

Officials say there are important steps to take if one is spotted.

“Don’t put them in the water, they are reptiles they breathe air, so they are usually not strong enough to swim,” said Merope Moonstone, a masters student with UCF Marine Turtle Research Group. “They’ve been offshore for weeks and months, and they are really weak and washing up."

Moonstone is part of a team that monitors sea turtle nesting during the season that runs from March 1 to Oct. 31.

“We are out here documenting every single crawl from the night before, marking nests and collecting data from those nests,” Moonstone said.

She says anyone that finds a "washback" should call the FWC Wildlife Alert Hotline at 888-404-FWCC.

The turtles saved so far are being rehabilitated at the Brevard Zoo Sea Turtle Healing Center.