Just shy of 4,200 sea turtle nests have been laid along Sarasota and Manatee County beaches so far this year, according to Mote Marine Laboratories.

That is more than twice last year’s record 1,714 nests, with three months left in the 2016 nesting season.

Mote announced this year would be a record season earlier this summer, but the latest numbers indicate no signs of slowing down.

Nests have been found on every beach along the 35 miles of shoreline from Venice to Longboat Key by Mote’s Sea Turtle Patrol, which includes teams of scientists and volunteers who scour the beaches for new nests every morning, according to a news release.

The largest increases came on Longboat and Casey keys, which have the highest concentrations of nests locally. Casey Key has 1,938 nests so far this year, compared to about 1,200 last year, and Longboat Key has had 1,100 nests this year, compared to almost 700 last year.

But more nests mean more disoriented hatchlings struggling to reach the water and survive to bolster turtle populations, Mote scientists warned.

“This year it is especially important that we all do as much as we can to help these hatchlings make it safely to the water,” said Kristen Mazzarella, senior biologist for the lab’s Sea Turtle Conservation and Research Program. “Each sea turtle nest contains about 100 eggs … That is at least 170,000 more hatchlings this year that are trying to find their way to the water.”

Female sea turtles and their eventual hatchlings find the water by heading toward the brightest horizon, which on natural beaches is the ocean. But developed beaches and artificial light from waterfront properties have created new, brighter lights that draw hatchlings toward roads, drains, swimming pools and other dangerous areas, scientists say.

When hatchlings head to artificial lights they can be picked up by predators or accidentally harmed by humans, and even if they then do find their way to the gulf, they may be too exhausted to survive the swim to food, Mazzarella said.

So far this summer Mote has responded to 105 disoriented nests with a total of 3,015 hatchlings, according to the laboratory’s records, which are submitted to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission. Those nests include 58 on Longboat Key, 10 on Siesta Key, 30 in Venice and seven on Casey Key.

Mote has rescued or received 700 hatchlings this year at its Hatchling Hospital, which provides food and care until they are recovered and well enough to return to the wild, according to the release.

Although Longboat Key remains the top spot for nest disorientations in the area, the Town Commission there voted in early July to update its 1987 turtle protection rules. The updates more strictly regulate artificial light near the beach and require beachgoers to remove any furniture and fill in holes that could impede the turtles overnight.