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 discovered on the beachside of Galveston Island State Park final week — the first 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 this planet.

This was the primary 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 found, it was brought to an incubation facility at Padre Island Nationwide Seashore, Marshall said.

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

The species was nearly lost within the Nineteen Eighties till intensive conservation efforts were carried out on nesting beaches and through fisheries management, in accordance with NOAA Fisheries. Bycatch — the intentional capture of non-target species while fishing — continues to be the most important menace 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 name the Sea Turtle hotline at 1-866-TURTLE-5.

Fill out the form below to subscribe our new daily editorial newsletter from the HPM Newsroom.