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 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 among the most endangered sea turtle species on this planet.

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

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

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

The species was almost misplaced within the 1980s until intensive conservation efforts were implemented on nesting seashores and through fisheries management, in line with NOAA Fisheries. Bycatch — the intentional capture of non-target species whereas fishing — continues to be the biggest threat going through Kemp's Ridley sea turtles.

Marshall stated the standard 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 very least 60 toes away and to call the Sea Turtle hotline at 1-866-TURTLE-5.

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