Endangered sea turtle nest found at Galveston Island State Park for the first time in a decade – Houston Public Media

A nest of endangered sea turtle eggs was found on the beachside of Galveston Island State Park final week — the primary nest discovered on the park in over a decade.

The nest contained 107 eggs laid by a Kemp's Ridley sea turtle, which is likely one of the most endangered sea turtle species on this planet.

This was the primary nest discovered at Galveston Island State Park since 2012, in accordance with Christopher Marshall, a professor of Marine Biology at Texas A&M and director for the Gulf Center for Sea Turtle Analysis.

As soon as the nest was found, it was dropped at an incubation facility at Padre Island National Seashore, Marshall said.

“Each egg matters,” Marshall stated. "A lot of nesting habitat for the Kemp's Ridley has been lost to storms, high tide and predation, which is why you will need to transport these nests to an surroundings the place they have the very best likelihood for survival into maturity."

The species was almost misplaced in the 1980s till intensive conservation efforts were carried out on nesting seashores and through fisheries management, in accordance with NOAA Fisheries. Bycatch — the intentional capture of non-target species while fishing — continues to be the largest menace going through Kemp's Ridley sea turtles.

Marshall said the everyday nesting season for the Kemp's Ridley sea turtle runs between April 1 and July 15. He urged anyone who finds a nest to stay no less than 60 toes away and to call the Sea Turtle hotline at 1-866-TURTLE-5.

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