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 discovered on the beachside of Galveston Island State Park final 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 one of the most endangered sea turtle species on the planet.

This was the first 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 Center for Sea Turtle Analysis.

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

“Each egg matters,” Marshall stated. "A whole lot 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 environment the place they have the very best likelihood for survival into adulthood."

The species was almost lost in the Nineteen Eighties until intensive conservation efforts have been carried out on nesting beaches and through fisheries management, in keeping with NOAA Fisheries. Bycatch — the intentional seize of non-target species whereas fishing — continues to be the largest risk dealing with 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 at the least 60 feet away and to call the Sea Turtle hotline at 1-866-TURTLE-5.

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