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 final 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 among the most endangered sea turtle species on the earth.

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

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

“Each egg issues,” Marshall said. "Quite a lot 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 surroundings the place they have the most effective likelihood for survival into adulthood."

The species was almost misplaced within the Eighties till intensive conservation efforts had been carried out on nesting seashores and through fisheries management, based on NOAA Fisheries. Bycatch — the intentional seize of non-target species while fishing — continues to be the most important risk dealing with 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 remain at the very least 60 feet away and to name the Sea Turtle hotline at 1-866-TURTLE-5.

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