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Georgia Sea Turtle Center Mission Statement: Through sea turtle rehabilitation, research and education programs, the Georgia Sea Turtle Center will increase awareness of habitat and wildlife conservation challenges, promote responsibility for ecosystem health and empower individuals to act locally, regionally, and globally to protect the environment.

The Research Department at the Georgia Sea Turtle Center works to better understand the ecology and conservation of turtles on Jekyll Island and in the region while collaborating with other individuals and organizations to study a wide variety of wildlife. Our flagship project is our sea turtle monitoring program, which for many years has generated important data about the Loggerhead and Green Sea Turtles nesting on Jekyll Island.

Our research also focuses on implementing Jekyll Island’s Conservation Plan. The Conservation Plan, established by the Jekyll Island Authority’s Conservation Planning Committee, seeks the long-term conservation and management of natural resources on Jekyll Island. The strategy presented in the Plan includes a mission to preserve, maintain, manage, and restore Jekyll Island’s natural communities and species diversity while providing nature-based educational and recreational opportunities for the general public.

Visit our Google Scholar Page to review publications produced by the Georgia Sea Turtle Center.

Sea Turtle tagging on Jekyll Island began in 1958 and routine mark-capture/tagging began in 1972. The Jekyll Island Sea Turtle Project was initiated by Brunswick Jr. College, now the College of Coastal Georgia. Night Patrols and tagging were conducted each season from 1972 through 1999, suspended from 2000-2006, and re-instituted in 2007 with the opening of the Georgia Sea Turtle Center. We now conduct nest monitoring and tagging research on Jekyll Island. Our primary nesting species is the Loggerhead sea turtle, though we have occasional nests from Green turtles (on record since the 1970s) and Leatherback sea turtles (on record since 2009). The beach extends about 14.7 km. The northern section, or 'Driftwood Beach' (~2 km) has limited nesting habitat. Due to tidal flow, we also have limited access to this section of beach. The middle third of the beach has rock armoring extending approximately 3km - 4km and no suitable nesting habitat. We get a number of false crawls along this rock wall, and occasionally a nest that we then relocate. The rest of the beach (8km -9km) provides decent nesting habitat for sea turtles.

An article on the history of our project can be found here.


Beach Education Programs:

Want to follow the status of one of Jekyll Island's sea turtle nests? Become a sponsor as an adoptive parent! PLEASE NOTE: Adoptions are a way to become more involved and support the mission of the Georgia Sea Turtle Center - sponsors do not get to take a sea turtle patient or nest home.

Join us for a guided beach tour in search of nesting sea turtles by participating in one of our nighttime Turtle Walks. For a more intimate and intense experience, experience a night as a sea turtle biologist by participating in Ride with Night Patrol.

Learn about beach ecology and potentially witness a sea turtle nest inventory by participating in an early-morning Sunrise Walk. For a more intimate and lengthy experience, experience a morning as a sea turtle biologist by participating in Ride with Dawn Patrol.