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 discovered on the beachside of Galveston Island State Park final week — the first nest found on the park in over a decade.

The nest contained 107 eggs laid by a Kemp's Ridley sea turtle, which is 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 Analysis.

As soon as the nest was discovered, it was brought to an incubation facility at Padre Island National Seashore, Marshall said.

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

The species was virtually lost within the Nineteen Eighties until intensive conservation efforts have been carried out on nesting beaches and thru fisheries management, in keeping with NOAA Fisheries. Bycatch — the intentional capture of non-target species while fishing — continues to be the largest threat going through Kemp's Ridley sea turtles.

Marshall mentioned the standard nesting season for the Kemp's Ridley sea turtle runs between April 1 and July 15. He urged anybody who finds a nest to remain no less than 60 ft away and to call the Sea Turtle hotline at 1-866-TURTLE-5.

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