The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources Marine Turtle Conservation Program is responsible for managing and protecting sea turtles in the state of South Carolina, USA. This program has several all encompassing components: management, monitoring, research, and education. More specifically this program provides technical expertise on anthropogenic activities that have the potential to impact sea turtles (i.e., nourishment, dredging), locates and protects sea turtle nests (~300 km of coastline), documents strandings, performs necropsies on fresh dead strandings, works with the SC Aquarium to provide rehabilitation for live strandings, monitors nearshore waters for leatherbacks, and provides as much education, outreach and exchange of scientific information as time allows.

The SCDNR began monitoring sea turtle nesting activities and strandings in the late 1970s. Information gained from this program contributes to ongoing sea turtle nest management and protection projects on all of the state's beaches. There are approximately 300 kilometers of ocean-facing sandy beaches in South Carolina that provide suitable nesting habitat for sea turtles. To date, loggerheads, green turtles, leatherbacks and rarely Kemp’s ridley sea turtle nests have been recorded on South Carolina beaches. By far the most common nesting species is the loggerhead. In South Carolina, nesting surveys and nest protection measures are carried out by a variety of public agencies such as the SCDNR, USFWS, South Carolina Department of Parks and Recreation and Coastal Carolina University. Several private organizations and numerous volunteers are also actively involved with sea turtle protection work. Altogether, more than 1,500 individuals participate in nest monitoring activities in South Carolina each year. The data collected are crucial in monitoring populations, formulating protective regulations, making management decisions, and maximizing reproduction for recovery.

PLEASE NOTE:DATA MAY NOT BE USED OR REFERENCED WITHOUT EXPLICIT WRITTEN CONSENT OF THE SCDNR MARINE TURTLE CONSERVATION PROGRAM