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 found on 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 the 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 Center for Sea Turtle Research.

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

“Every egg issues,” Marshall stated. "A lot 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 atmosphere where they have the most effective likelihood for survival into maturity."

The species was nearly lost in the Nineteen Eighties till intensive conservation efforts have been applied on nesting seashores and through fisheries administration, according to NOAA Fisheries. Bycatch — the intentional capture of non-target species whereas fishing — continues to be the biggest menace dealing with Kemp's Ridley sea turtles.

Marshall mentioned 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 no less than 60 ft away and to call the Sea Turtle hotline at 1-866-TURTLE-5.

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