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 final week — the primary nest discovered on the park in over a decade.

The nest contained 107 eggs laid by a Kemp's Ridley sea turtle, which is likely one of the most endangered sea turtle species on this planet.

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 Heart for Sea Turtle Analysis.

Once the nest was found, it was brought to an incubation facility at Padre Island National Seashore, Marshall mentioned.

“Each egg matters,” Marshall stated. "A lot of nesting habitat for the Kemp's Ridley has been lost to storms, excessive tide and predation, which is why you will need to transport these nests to an surroundings the place they've the very best probability for survival into adulthood."

The species was nearly lost within the Eighties till intensive conservation efforts have been carried out on nesting beaches and thru fisheries management, in response to NOAA Fisheries. Bycatch — the intentional seize of non-target species while fishing — continues to be the largest menace 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 remain a minimum of 60 feet away and to name the Sea Turtle hotline at 1-866-TURTLE-5.

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