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

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

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

This was the first nest found at Galveston Island State Park since 2012, in response to Christopher Marshall, a professor of Marine Biology at Texas A&M and director for the Gulf Middle for Sea Turtle Research.

Once the nest was discovered, it was brought to an incubation facility at Padre Island National Seashore, Marshall stated.

“Every egg matters,” Marshall said. "Plenty of nesting habitat for the Kemp's Ridley has been misplaced to storms, excessive tide and predation, which is why it is important to transport these nests to an setting the place they've one of the best probability for survival into adulthood."

The species was almost lost within the Nineteen Eighties till intensive conservation efforts have been applied on nesting seashores and through fisheries administration, in line with NOAA Fisheries. Bycatch — the intentional capture of non-target species while fishing — continues to be the biggest threat going through 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 anyone who finds a nest to remain at the very least 60 toes away and to call the Sea Turtle hotline at 1-866-TURTLE-5.

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