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 found 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 earth.

This was the first nest found 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 Center for Sea Turtle Analysis.

As soon as the nest was discovered, it was delivered to an incubation facility at Padre Island Nationwide Seashore, Marshall mentioned.

“Each egg matters,” Marshall stated. "Plenty 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 the place they've one of the best probability for survival into maturity."

The species was virtually lost within the Nineteen Eighties until intensive conservation efforts have been carried out on nesting seashores and through fisheries administration, in accordance with NOAA Fisheries. Bycatch — the intentional capture of non-target species while fishing — continues to be the most important menace dealing with 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 anyone who finds a nest to stay at least 60 toes away and to name the Sea Turtle hotline at 1-866-TURTLE-5.

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