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 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 without doubt one of 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 Research.

Once the nest was discovered, it was delivered to an incubation facility at Padre Island Nationwide Seashore, Marshall stated.

“Every egg issues,” Marshall stated. "Loads of nesting habitat for the Kemp's Ridley has been lost to storms, high tide and predation, which is why you will need to transport these nests to an environment the place they have one of the best likelihood for survival into maturity."

The species was nearly misplaced within the Eighties till intensive conservation efforts had been implemented on nesting seashores and through fisheries administration, in line with NOAA Fisheries. Bycatch — the intentional seize of non-target species whereas fishing — continues to be the most important risk 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 no less than 60 feet away and to name the Sea Turtle hotline at 1-866-TURTLE-5.

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