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 found 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 primary 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 Heart for Sea Turtle Analysis.

As soon as the nest was found, it was dropped at an incubation facility at Padre Island Nationwide Seashore, Marshall said.

“Every egg matters,” Marshall said. "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 environment the place they have the most effective probability for survival into maturity."

The species was nearly misplaced in the Nineteen Eighties till intensive conservation efforts have been implemented on nesting beaches and through fisheries administration, in line 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 mentioned 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 at the least 60 feet away and to name the Sea Turtle hotline at 1-866-TURTLE-5.

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