FENWICK ISLAND, Del.- For the first time in more than 40 years, endangered loggerhead sea turtles have hatched in Delaware.

According to the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, 48 baby sea turtles hatched over the course of a few days in September. DNREC says they waited to announce the hatching until after scientists could assess the status of the remaining eggs in the nest.

According to DNREC, the nest was originally found near James Street in Fenwick Island, but it was below the high tide line. DNREC says volunteers from the MERR Institute relocated the nest to a higher and more remote location in Fenwick Island State Park to ensure the nest's success. Volunteers put fences around the nest until the hatchlings emerged and also manually protected the nest throughout the hatch period.

DNREC says loggerhead sea turtles--which are a federally-listed threatened species and a state-listed endangered species in Delaware-- typically nest from North Carolina to Florida. DNREC says this is the first documented nest in Delaware since July 1973, when a nest was found in north Bethany. DNREC says Assateague Island National Seashore in Maryland had its first successful loggerhead hatch in 2017.

For more on the hatching, visit the MERR Institute's Facebook Page.