Endangered sea turtle nest discovered 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 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 first nest discovered 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.

As soon as the nest was found, it was delivered to an incubation facility at Padre Island National Seashore, Marshall said.

“Each egg matters,” Marshall said. "Loads of nesting habitat for the Kemp's Ridley has been lost to storms, excessive tide and predation, which is why it is important to transport these nests to an setting the place they've the most effective probability for survival into adulthood."

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

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

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