Agency says sea turtle eggs laid on California beaches are a first for the US West Coast

A sea turtle laid eggs at a Southern California beach in September, an event NOAA's West Coast Fisheries division says is the first recorded natural nesting of any sea turtle species on the West Coast. The first nest appeared near Seal Beach on September 16, followed three days later by a second nesting near the Huntington Beach Pier, possibly by the same olive ridley turtle.

Both sites have been fenced off, with incubation expected to take 45 to 60 days. Lifeguards initially worried the turtle was sick before realizing it was digging a nest, and local officials say they hope the eggs survive tides, storms, and the usual beach crowds.

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