Endangered sea turtle nest found 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 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 Middle for Sea Turtle Research.

Once the nest was discovered, it was delivered to an incubation facility at Padre Island National Seashore, Marshall stated.

“Every egg issues,” Marshall stated. "Lots 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 the place they have the best likelihood for survival into adulthood."

The species was almost lost in the 1980s until intensive conservation efforts were applied on nesting seashores and thru fisheries management, based on NOAA Fisheries. Bycatch — the intentional capture of non-target species whereas fishing — continues to be the largest risk facing 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 not less than 60 ft away and to call the Sea Turtle hotline at 1-866-TURTLE-5.

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