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

As soon as the nest was discovered, it was brought to an incubation facility at Padre Island Nationwide Seashore, Marshall mentioned.

“Each egg matters,” Marshall stated. "A variety of nesting habitat for the Kemp's Ridley has been lost to storms, excessive tide and predation, which is why you will need to transport these nests to an surroundings the place they've one of the best probability for survival into maturity."

The species was virtually misplaced within the 1980s till intensive conservation efforts had been applied on nesting seashores and thru fisheries management, in accordance with NOAA Fisheries. Bycatch — the intentional seize of non-target species whereas fishing — continues to be the largest threat facing 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 anybody who finds a nest to stay no less than 60 feet away and to call the Sea Turtle hotline at 1-866-TURTLE-5.

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