Endangered sea turtle nest discovered 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 discovered on the park in over a decade.

The nest contained 107 eggs laid by a Kemp's Ridley sea turtle, which is without doubt one of the most endangered sea turtle species on the planet.

This was the first nest discovered at Galveston Island State Park since 2012, in accordance with Christopher Marshall, a professor of Marine Biology at Texas A&M and director for the Gulf Middle for Sea Turtle Analysis.

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

“Each egg matters,” Marshall stated. "Quite a lot of nesting habitat for the Kemp's Ridley has been lost to storms, excessive tide and predation, which is why it is important to transport these nests to an setting where they have one of the best likelihood for survival into adulthood."

The species was virtually lost within the 1980s until intensive conservation efforts had been applied on nesting seashores and through fisheries administration, based on NOAA Fisheries. Bycatch — the intentional seize of non-target species while fishing — continues to be the largest menace facing 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 not less than 60 feet away and to call the Sea Turtle hotline at 1-866-TURTLE-5.

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