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 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 this planet.

This was the first nest discovered 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 Center for Sea Turtle Analysis.

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

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

The species was virtually lost in the Nineteen Eighties till intensive conservation efforts have been carried out on nesting seashores and thru fisheries administration, in accordance with 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 everyday nesting season for the Kemp's Ridley sea turtle runs between April 1 and July 15. He urged anyone who finds a nest to remain at the least 60 toes away and to name the Sea Turtle hotline at 1-866-TURTLE-5.

Fill out the shape beneath to subscribe our new each day editorial e-newsletter from the HPM Newsroom.