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 found on 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 this planet.

This was the first nest found at Galveston Island State Park since 2012, in response to Christopher Marshall, a professor of Marine Biology at Texas A&M and director for the Gulf Middle for Sea Turtle Research.

As soon as the nest was discovered, it was brought to an incubation facility at Padre Island Nationwide Seashore, Marshall stated.

“Every egg issues,” Marshall said. "A whole 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 environment the place they have one of the best probability for survival into adulthood."

The species was virtually lost within the 1980s until intensive conservation efforts were implemented on nesting seashores and thru fisheries administration, in keeping with NOAA Fisheries. Bycatch — the intentional capture of non-target species while fishing — continues to be the most important 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 anybody who finds a nest to stay at the very least 60 toes away and to name the Sea Turtle hotline at 1-866-TURTLE-5.

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