Elsa takes out sea turtle nests on Anna Maria Island

Elsa took a toll on Anna Maria Island’s sea turtle nests as the storm passed July 6-7 in the Gulf of Mexico.

Turtle nests on AMI faced destructive waves, according to the Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch (AMITW) and Shorebird Monitoring team.

AMITW is a nonprofit that collects data on sea turtle and shorebird nesting habits.

After the storm — which moved up the Gulf of Mexico as a category 1 hurricane but was downgraded to a tropical storm as it passed the island overnight July 7— AMITW volunteer Pete Gross reported 53 nests were washed away by waves and 131 nests were washed over by waves.

Gross said nests that were washed over likely would hatch.

A fraction of the nests that were washed away also will hatch.

Additionally, some sea turtle eggs were found rolling in the surf, said executive director of AMITW Suzi Fox.

The eggs found in the surf will not hatch, as they are water permeable.

“Once they roll to the water, the likelihood of them hatching is zero,” Fox said.