The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) began monitoring sea turtle nesting activities in the late 1970s. Studies by Deborah Crouse in the early 1980s established baseline data on density, distribution, and chronology of nesting as well as identifying potential hazards to successful nesting in North Carolina. This led to the development of the Sea Turtle Protection Program that is administered by the NCWRC's Nongame and Endangered Wildlife Program (now Wildlife Diversity Program). 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 330 miles of ocean-facing sandy beaches in North Carolina that provide suitable nesting habitat for sea turtles. To date, loggerheads, green turtles, leatherbacks and Kemp’s ridleys sea turtle nests have been recorded on North Carolina beaches - and even two nests laid by a hawksbill sea turtle in 2016. By far the most common nesting species is the loggerhead. In North Carolina, nesting surveys and nest protection measures are carried out by a variety of public agencies such as the National Park Service, USFWS, U.S. Marine Corps, U. S. Army Corps of Engineers, North Carolina Division of Parks and Recreation and the University of North Carolina - Wilmington. Several private organizations and numerous volunteers are also actively involved with sea turtle protection work. Altogether, more than 1000 individuals participate in nest monitoring activities in North Carolina each year. The data obtained from index are used to ascertain national nesting trends and play an important role in the Loggerhead Recovery Assessment process. Results from all North Carolina sea turtle nesting beach projects are submitted to the NCWRC and compiled for the State and made available to federal agencies. These data are crucial in monitoring populations, formulating protective regulations, making management decisions, and maximizing reproduction.

PLEASE NOTE: NESTING DATA PRIOR TO 1999 ARE NOT COMPLETE. We are working on uploading more historical data.