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 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 among the most endangered sea turtle species on the earth.

This was the primary nest discovered 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 Middle for Sea Turtle Analysis.

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

“Each egg issues,” Marshall mentioned. "A lot of nesting habitat for the Kemp's Ridley has been misplaced to storms, high tide and predation, which is why it is important to transport these nests to an atmosphere the place they've the perfect likelihood for survival into maturity."

The species was almost misplaced in the 1980s till intensive conservation efforts were applied on nesting seashores and through fisheries management, in keeping with NOAA Fisheries. Bycatch — the intentional seize of non-target species while fishing — continues to be the most important threat facing 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 no less than 60 feet away and to call the Sea Turtle hotline at 1-866-TURTLE-5.

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