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

The nest contained 107 eggs laid by a Kemp's Ridley sea turtle, which is without doubt one of the most endangered sea turtle species in the world.

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 Middle for Sea Turtle Research.

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

“Every egg issues,” Marshall said. "A number of nesting habitat for the Kemp's Ridley has been misplaced to storms, high tide and predation, which is why it is very important transport these nests to an setting the place they've the very best likelihood for survival into maturity."

The species was almost misplaced in the Eighties until intensive conservation efforts had been applied on nesting beaches and through fisheries management, in keeping with NOAA Fisheries. Bycatch — the intentional seize of non-target species while fishing — continues to be the biggest threat going through 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 remain a minimum of 60 feet away and to name the Sea Turtle hotline at 1-866-TURTLE-5.

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