Endangered sea turtle nest discovered at Galveston Island State Park for the primary time in a decade – Houston Public Media

A nest of endangered sea turtle eggs was found on the beachside of Galveston Island State Park last week — the primary nest found at 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 the planet.

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 Middle for Sea Turtle Research.

Once the nest was found, it was dropped at an incubation facility at Padre Island Nationwide Seashore, Marshall mentioned.

“Every egg matters,” Marshall stated. "A number of nesting habitat for the Kemp's Ridley has been misplaced to storms, high tide and predation, which is why you will need to transport these nests to an setting where they've one of the best likelihood for survival into maturity."

The species was almost misplaced within the 1980s until intensive conservation efforts were implemented on nesting seashores and thru fisheries administration, in keeping with NOAA Fisheries. Bycatch — the intentional capture of non-target species while fishing — continues to be the most important menace dealing with Kemp's Ridley sea turtles.

Marshall stated 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 at the very least 60 ft away and to name the Sea Turtle hotline at 1-866-TURTLE-5.

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