A record number of sea turtles are nesting this summer at Canaveral National Seashore, and beaches statewide are seeing similar numbers.

More than 7,000 nests are expected by the end of the season next month. John Stiner of Canaveral National Seashore says that dwarfs last year's record of nearly 6,000 nests.

"Actually this year we have shattered all of our previous records", said Stiner.He says sea turtles are benefiting from protection measures implemented in the last 20 years, like lights out along the beaches and turtle exclusion devices on shrimp nets.

"And now we're just beginning to see the results of that as these hatchlings that were saved back in the mid-80's are now reaching maturity and coming ashore to nest", Stiner explained.

The record surprised the Canaveral National Seashore staff. They were expecting a down year after last year's record number of nests.