Endangered sea turtle nest found at Galveston Island State Park for the first 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 likely one of the most endangered sea turtle species on the earth.

This was the primary nest found 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 Middle for Sea Turtle Analysis.

Once the nest was discovered, it was dropped at an incubation facility at Padre Island National Seashore, Marshall mentioned.

“Every egg issues,” Marshall mentioned. "A whole lot of nesting habitat for the Kemp's Ridley has been lost to storms, excessive tide and predation, which is why you will need to transport these nests to an setting the place they have one of the best chance for survival into adulthood."

The species was virtually lost in the Nineteen Eighties until intensive conservation efforts were applied on nesting seashores and thru fisheries management, in response to NOAA Fisheries. Bycatch — the intentional seize of non-target species while fishing — continues to be the largest menace facing 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 anybody who finds a nest to remain at the very least 60 feet away and to name the Sea Turtle hotline at 1-866-TURTLE-5.

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