Recently hatched sea turtle nest excavated near Fort Fisher

FORT FISHER, NC (WWAY) — More than 125 people gathered along the beach at Fort Fisher to see a unique dig on Wednesday evening.

Fort Fisher Sea Turtle volunteers excavated a recently hatched sea turtle nest near the Fort Fisher Recreation Area off Loggerhead Road.

Several volunteers saw the nest hatch 3 days ago.

The excavation was a routine process to check how many eggs hatched and whether any hatchlings were still alive in the nest.

Park Ranger Emily Abernethy said the event was also about educating the public, including what to do to make sure recently hatched turtles can make it to the ocean.

“It’s just one of the many processes that we go through to help protect them,” Abernethy said. “So a big thing is if you are going to the beach, please fill in your holes cause the turtles can fall in there, people can as well. So just for safety, make sure you fill in those holes. Pick up trash either on the beach or in your backyard because the turtles can ingest that and that is a big issue that they might run into.”

The nest produced 122 hatchlings, with another 11 eggs that did not hatch.