TYBEE ISLAND, Ga. (WSAV) – Sea turtles are one of Georgia's most beloved coastal creatures, and while their nesting season may have been a bit of a shell shock with lower numbers this year, experts say there's no need to worry. While this year's nesting numbers are low, experts share it's just a natural dip in the cycle for sea turtles here. Female loggerhead turtles don't lay eggs every year. Let's dive into what this season means for 2025's nesting season. The 2024 sea turtle nesting season in Georgia wrapped up as a slow cycle. With 2,521 nests recorded across 13 coastal beaches, this marked a decrease from previous years. Nearly all nests identified belonged to the Loggerhead species, a turtle showing a steady recovery thanks to decades of conservation efforts. A look into winter tourism on Tybee Island Loggerhead nests have increased about 4% annually over the past 36 years, reflecting a strong increase from 2004 when fewer than 300 nests were recorded statewide. Tybee Island saw half the nests this year than before, but local experts say storms like Hurricane Debby had a minimal impact on low nesting numbers. "By the time those storms came around we were at the end of our season. Luckily,We (Tybee Island) nested lightly this year as well," said Chantal Audran, the executive director of Tybee Marine Science Center. "We had 31 nests last year (2023), to our 15 nests this year (2024). So, a bigger difference about half of the abundance. It's not because sea turtles aren't recovering. Sea turtle populations peak and valley. Not every sea turtle is nesting every year." The good news is conservationists expect a busier nesting season this year in 2025 which follows the cycle patterns.