Endangered sea turtle nest found 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 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 primary nest found 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 Middle for Sea Turtle Analysis.

As soon as the nest was discovered, it was dropped at an incubation facility at Padre Island Nationwide Seashore, Marshall said.

“Every egg matters,” Marshall mentioned. "A variety 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 environment the place they have one of the best likelihood for survival into maturity."

The species was nearly lost in the Eighties until intensive conservation efforts had been implemented on nesting seashores and thru fisheries administration, according to NOAA Fisheries. Bycatch — the intentional capture of non-target species while fishing — continues to be the largest menace going through Kemp's Ridley sea turtles.

Marshall said 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 no less than 60 feet away and to name the Sea Turtle hotline at 1-866-TURTLE-5.

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