At first light on Friday, September 25, biologists from NOAA and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service crouched over two nests on the Orange County coast and lifted out a clutch of golf-ball-sized eggs. The Los Angeles Times reported that the team packed the eggs into styrofoam coolers filled with sand and drove them to the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach. Passengers held the coolers in their arms the whole way to keep vibration down.
"We had to make some quick decisions," U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologist Jonathan Snyder told the Times at the aquarium that day. Since then, the eggs have sat in a quiet, private room in the aquarium's Molina Animal Care Center, where staff control the temperature and humidity. The room is not open to the public. The incubation is happening out of sight. The rest of the story, from the release to the chance of more nests, happens on the beach near the Huntington Beach Pier.
Two turtles, eight miles apart, three days apart
The first nest showed up on September 16. A turtle came ashore on a patch of sand between the waves and the oceanfront condos on Surfside Avenue in Seal Beach. According to the Orange County Register, Huntington Beach Marine Safety lifeguards went out on a report of a possibly injured turtle. When they found it laying eggs, they set up a perimeter with Seal Beach lifeguards and notified NOAA and the Fish and Wildlife Service.
Three days later and about eight miles down the coast, a second olive ridley crawled ashore just south of Tower 15 in Huntington Beach, dug a hole, laid her eggs and went back into the ocean. Early reports said the two sightings might be the same turtle. Dr. Cali Turner Tomaszewicz, a research biologist at NOAA's Southwest Fisheries Science Center, settled that question. NOAA Fisheries explains that she compared body shape, the number and position of barnacles, and each shell's scute pattern, which works much like a fingerprint. The comparison showed two different turtles.
Before that week, the farthest-north known olive ridley nesting ground was in Baja California Sur, roughly 700 miles south of Orange County.
| Date | What happened | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Sept. 16, 2026 | First nest laid | Surfside Avenue, Seal Beach |
| Sept. 19, 2026 | Second nest laid by a different turtle | Just south of Tower 15, Huntington Beach |
| Sept. 25, 2026 | 204 eggs recovered and moved ahead of Hurricane Polo | 100 from Huntington Beach, 104 from Seal Beach |
| Oct. 13, 2026 | Latest federal update: eggs still incubating | Aquarium of the Pacific, Long Beach |
Why the eggs had to leave the beach
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says it usually prefers the least intrusive options for nests. The Times reported that Hurricanes Polo and Odalys formed off Mexico at the same time as the twice-monthly astronomical high tides, and the forecast surge and surf would almost certainly have destroyed both nests.
Both turtles also happened to pick busy stretches of sand. The Huntington Beach nest was close to the part of the beach closed October 2 through 4 for the Pacific Airshow. The Seal Beach nest sat next to an area where sand berms are planned for winter storms. Even without a hurricane, a nest near Tower 15 would have had to share the beach with one of the city's biggest weekends.
The hatching window runs on egg time
Olive ridley eggs usually incubate for 45 to 60 days. The September coverage, along with the Visit Huntington Beach "What's New" page updated October 5, said hatching was expected in early November. The Fish and Wildlife Service's October 13 update moved that estimate to approximately mid-November, if the eggs are viable.
Counting 45 to 60 days from each lay date gives a window for each nest:
| Nest | Laid | Day 45 | Day 60 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seal Beach / Surfside | Sept. 16 | Oct. 31 | Nov. 15 |
| Huntington Beach, near Tower 15 | Sept. 19 | Nov. 3 | Nov. 18 |
As this post goes up at the end of October, the Seal Beach clutch is coming up on the early end of its range. The Huntington Beach clutch reaches the start of its range a few days later. No agency has said whether the eggs are fertile. NOAA has said plainly that it doesn't know whether they were fertilized or are viable. Temperature is the limiting factor. In a Q&A published October 20 by the Oceanic Society, NOAA scientist Jeff Seminoff said Southern California beaches match Mexican nesting beaches in shape and sand, but normal local conditions are usually not warm enough for eggs to develop and hatch. He also expects low hatching success from these 204 eggs.
Why any release brings the story back near the pier
The aquarium, NOAA and the Fish and Wildlife Service all describe the same plan. If the eggs hatch, the hatchlings will go back to the beaches where they were laid and crawl across the sand to the ocean themselves. For the Huntington Beach clutch, that means the sand near Tower 15.
Timing matters too. Ann Marie Lauritsen, the Fish and Wildlife Service's marine turtle expert, told the Oceanic Society that depending on water temperature, hatchlings will be released as soon as possible after dark. That protects their brief "frenzy period," a burst of hard swimming that carries them out of the predator-heavy water near shore. The federal update adds that warmer water linked to El Niño may allow a natural release, and that more details will come as the plan develops. No agency has announced a public viewing.
Why the release site matters goes beyond this year. NOAA notes that adult female sea turtles tend to return to the area where they hatched, and about 15 years later some come back to nest on the beach where they were born. Seminoff's view of that possibility is "yes, with an asterisk." Ocean conditions would have to be warm enough to support a returning turtle, and with so few eggs, the odds that even one hatchling survives to adulthood are long.
The season hasn't closed
The olive ridley nesting season in Mexico runs from about July to December, and females typically lay two to three nests about two weeks apart. In its September 25 release, the Aquarium of the Pacific said more turtles may nest, or may already have nested, on Southern California beaches, and asked the public to watch for tracks in the sand. The Fish and Wildlife Service is drafting an interim conservation strategy in case sea turtles keep nesting in California.
NOAA says the cause is still uncertain. Likely factors include warm sea surface temperatures from ongoing marine heatwaves and the incoming 2027 El Niño, along with the species' nomadic habits and possible navigational errors. Seminoff described a possible "thermal corridor," which he compared to a warm-water bridge, opened by months of tropical-like conditions. He also pointed to the larger number of olive ridleys in the Pacific today thanks to protections under the Endangered Species Act. On whether this will happen again, he told the Oceanic Society:
"This is more likely an isolated event ultimately tied to the unusually warm waters. However, if marine heat waves and warming phenomena increase in frequency and severity, it is possible and perhaps likely that we will see additional olive ridley nesting on southern California's beaches."
Some coverage has simply called these turtles endangered. NOAA's species page is more precise. Mexico's Pacific-coast breeding populations are listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act, and all other populations are listed as threatened.
If you see a turtle, tracks or a nest on the beach
NOAA, the Fish and Wildlife Service and the aquarium give the same guidance:
- Keep a safe distance, and don't disturb a nesting turtle, a nest, hatchlings, or any protective fencing or signs around a nesting site.
- Report it on NOAA's online sighting form, call the 24/7 West Coast Sea Turtle Stranding Hotline at (562) 506-4315, or tell a lifeguard.
- Call the same hotline about a stranded or distressed turtle.
- Follow local rules around protected nesting sites, and cut down on light that shines onto the beach. The Fish and Wildlife Service notes that artificial light can confuse hatchlings and discourage adult females from coming ashore.
Lauritsen described the agencies' goal as helping communities share the beach with sea turtles while keeping nesting and hatching as natural as possible. That work includes coordinating with cities and counties on artificial lighting, beach driving and other activities that can affect nests. Federal partners have promised more updates as incubation goes on. Until then, the hotline number is the most useful thing to save on your phone before a walk near Tower 15.
At LUXRE Realty, we follow what's happening on the Huntington Beach coast because it's where our clients and our Huntington Beach office spend their days. If you'd like to talk about life near the pier, or about a home within walking distance of it, please reach out. Contact Us.
