Endangered sea turtle nest discovered 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 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 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 mentioned.

“Every egg matters,” Marshall mentioned. "Quite a lot of nesting habitat for the Kemp's Ridley has been misplaced to storms, excessive tide and predation, which is why you will need to transport these nests to an setting where they've one of the best likelihood for survival into adulthood."

The species was nearly misplaced in the 1980s till intensive conservation efforts were applied on nesting beaches and thru fisheries administration, in line with NOAA Fisheries. Bycatch — the intentional seize of non-target species while fishing — continues to be the biggest risk going through Kemp's Ridley sea turtles.

Marshall mentioned 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 at least 60 toes away and to name the Sea Turtle hotline at 1-866-TURTLE-5.

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