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 without doubt one of the most endangered sea turtle species on this planet.

This was the primary nest found 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 Heart for Sea Turtle Analysis.

As soon as the nest was discovered, it was dropped at an incubation facility at Padre Island Nationwide Seashore, Marshall stated.

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

The species was nearly lost in the 1980s till intensive conservation efforts have been carried out on nesting seashores and thru fisheries management, in response to NOAA Fisheries. Bycatch — the intentional capture of non-target species whereas fishing — continues to be the biggest menace dealing with Kemp's Ridley sea turtles.

Marshall said 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 stay at the very least 60 feet away and to name the Sea Turtle hotline at 1-866-TURTLE-5.

Fill out the form below to subscribe our new day by day editorial publication from the HPM Newsroom.