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 discovered on the beachside of Galveston Island State Park last week — the primary nest discovered at 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 earth.

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.

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

“Each egg issues,” Marshall said. "Loads of nesting habitat for the Kemp's Ridley has been lost to storms, high tide and predation, which is why it is important to transport these nests to an surroundings where they've the best probability for survival into adulthood."

The species was almost misplaced within the Nineteen Eighties until intensive conservation efforts had been carried out on nesting seashores and through fisheries administration, in keeping with NOAA Fisheries. Bycatch — the intentional capture of non-target species while fishing — continues to be the largest menace facing Kemp's Ridley sea turtles.

Marshall said the typical 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 least 60 toes away and to call the Sea Turtle hotline at 1-866-TURTLE-5.

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