Sea turtle nesting season begins in one week, and St. Johns county officials are asking residents, visitors and businesses to protect the turtles’ natural habitat.

Sea turtle nesting season began Monday, and turtles are expected to bury their eggs in nests up and down the Northeast Florida coast until October.

It has been a historic sea turtle season in Mayport.

Rare sea turtles that spend summers laying eggs on Southern beaches have crawled to a new state record in Georgia.