Yes-While quiet beaches are certainly good for nesting (turtles aren’t spooked as easily), empty beaches don’t necessarily mean more turtles. Many factors go in to who nests in any given season and these factors come into play long before a turtle migrates to her nesting beach 1/ https://twitter.com/phillyturtleguy/status/1253125948066725888

As @PhillyTurtleGuy mentions, well before COVID-19 beach closures. Quiet, dark beaches are the ideal for nesting turtles. Turtles may spend less time and energy finding a suitable nest location due to fewer deterrents. And that’s good. 2/

At the same time, the season only just started here in the US. A recovery takes decades (even centuries) for these long-lived animals. Not weeks (I wish it were that simple!). And a nesting beach is a small piece of these animals long and complex lives. 3/

Their time spent in coastal and oceanic habitats is just as important — perhaps even more so now. I’ve seen reports that Florida’s enforcement agencies are still patrolling our waters, which is great. Yet this may not be the case everywhere with COVID-19 restrictions. 4/