South Florida sea turtles fared all right this summer

Some good news: Sea turtles in Broward County have fared better than expected this nesting season, according to Stephanie C. Roche, an environmental project coordinator for the county's Natural Resources Division.

• "We were at least matching about average over the past five years, if not exceeding averages for our nesting species," Roche told Axios.

By the numbers: As of Sept. 16, Roche's team had counted 2,903 loggerhead nests, 358 green turtle nests and 26 leatherback nests along 24 miles of beach.

• Typically, about 70-80% of turtles hatch successfully.

State of play: Roche's team monitors from the Broward-Palm Beach county line in the north to the Broward-Miami-Dade county line in the south, except within a state park in Dania Beach.

• Roche emphasized that the data is preliminary. Nesting season officially ends Oct. 31, though it’s unlikely much nesting will occur so late in the season. Final data won’t be available until December.

Some bad news: Sea turtle babies are skewing almost all female because their sex is determined by sand temperatures, which have been rising.

How you can help: Avoid single-use plastics, which hurt turtles and all marine critters, Roche said.