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 at 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 the earth.

This was the primary 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 Middle for Sea Turtle Analysis.

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

“Every egg issues,” Marshall mentioned. "A number of nesting habitat for the Kemp's Ridley has been lost to storms, high tide and predation, which is why you will need to transport these nests to an environment where they have the very best likelihood for survival into maturity."

The species was nearly lost in the 1980s until intensive conservation efforts have been implemented on nesting seashores and thru fisheries administration, in keeping with NOAA Fisheries. Bycatch — the intentional capture of non-target species while fishing — continues to be the biggest menace facing Kemp's Ridley sea turtles.

Marshall mentioned 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 stay at the least 60 feet away and to name the Sea Turtle hotline at 1-866-TURTLE-5.

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