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 discovered 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 this planet.

This was the first nest found at Galveston Island State Park since 2012, in keeping with 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 found, it was brought to an incubation facility at Padre Island Nationwide Seashore, Marshall said.

“Each egg matters,” Marshall mentioned. "A variety 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 where they've the perfect likelihood for survival into maturity."

The species was almost lost in the Eighties till intensive conservation efforts had been carried out on nesting beaches and thru fisheries administration, in line with NOAA Fisheries. Bycatch — the intentional capture of non-target species while fishing — continues to be the largest threat facing Kemp's Ridley sea turtles.

Marshall said the standard nesting season for the Kemp's Ridley sea turtle runs between April 1 and July 15. He urged anybody who finds a nest to remain a minimum of 60 feet away and to name the Sea Turtle hotline at 1-866-TURTLE-5.

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