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 primary nest found on 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 in the world.

This was the first nest found at Galveston Island State Park since 2012, based on 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 delivered to an incubation facility at Padre Island National Seashore, Marshall mentioned.

“Each egg matters,” Marshall said. "Numerous 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 environment where they have the most effective likelihood for survival into adulthood."

The species was nearly misplaced in the Eighties till intensive conservation efforts had been applied on nesting beaches and through fisheries administration, in response to NOAA Fisheries. Bycatch — the intentional capture of non-target species while fishing — continues to be the biggest threat facing Kemp's Ridley sea turtles.

Marshall said the typical 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 a minimum of 60 ft away and to name the Sea Turtle hotline at 1-866-TURTLE-5.

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