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 discovered on the beachside of Galveston Island State Park last week — the first nest discovered on the park in over a decade.

The nest contained 107 eggs laid by a Kemp's Ridley sea turtle, which is likely 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 line with 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 found, it was dropped at an incubation facility at Padre Island Nationwide Seashore, Marshall said.

“Every egg matters,” Marshall stated. "A whole 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 environment the place they've the very best likelihood for survival into maturity."

The species was nearly lost within the Nineteen Eighties till intensive conservation efforts were implemented on nesting beaches and thru fisheries administration, according to NOAA Fisheries. Bycatch — the intentional capture of non-target species while fishing — continues to be the largest risk going through Kemp's Ridley sea turtles.

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

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