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

A nest of endangered sea turtle eggs was discovered on the beachside of Galveston Island State Park last week — the first 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 the planet.

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

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

“Every egg matters,” Marshall mentioned. "A lot of nesting habitat for the Kemp's Ridley has been misplaced to storms, excessive tide and predation, which is why you will need to transport these nests to an setting the place they have the very best probability for survival into maturity."

The species was nearly misplaced in the 1980s until intensive conservation efforts had been carried out on nesting beaches and thru fisheries management, in response to NOAA Fisheries. Bycatch — the intentional capture of non-target species whereas fishing — continues to be the most important threat going through Kemp's Ridley sea turtles.

Marshall stated 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 least 60 toes away and to call the Sea Turtle hotline at 1-866-TURTLE-5.

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