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 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 planet.

This was the primary nest found at Galveston Island State Park since 2012, according to 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 discovered, it was dropped at an incubation facility at Padre Island Nationwide Seashore, Marshall said.

“Each egg issues,” Marshall mentioned. "Plenty 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 setting where they've the best probability for survival into maturity."

The species was nearly misplaced within the Eighties till intensive conservation efforts have been implemented on nesting beaches and through fisheries management, in response to NOAA Fisheries. Bycatch — the intentional seize of non-target species while fishing — continues to be the largest threat going through Kemp's Ridley sea turtles.

Marshall stated the everyday 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 a minimum of 60 ft away and to call the Sea Turtle hotline at 1-866-TURTLE-5.

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