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

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

The nest contained 107 eggs laid by a Kemp's Ridley sea turtle, which is among the most endangered sea turtle species on the earth.

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

As soon as the nest was discovered, it was brought to an incubation facility at Padre Island Nationwide Seashore, Marshall mentioned.

“Every egg issues,” Marshall said. "Plenty of nesting habitat for the Kemp's Ridley has been lost to storms, high tide and predation, which is why it is important to transport these nests to an surroundings the place they have the very best probability for survival into maturity."

The species was nearly lost in the 1980s till intensive conservation efforts have been carried out on nesting seashores and through fisheries administration, based on NOAA Fisheries. Bycatch — the intentional seize of non-target species while fishing — continues to be the largest menace going through Kemp's Ridley sea turtles.

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

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