Endangered sea turtle nest found at Galveston Island State Park for the primary time in a decade – Houston Public Media

A nest of endangered sea turtle eggs was found on the beachside of Galveston Island State Park final week — the primary nest found on 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 on the planet.

This was the primary nest found at Galveston Island State Park since 2012, in accordance with Christopher Marshall, a professor of Marine Biology at Texas A&M and director for the Gulf Heart for Sea Turtle Analysis.

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

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

The species was almost lost within the Eighties until intensive conservation efforts were carried out on nesting beaches and through fisheries administration, in keeping with NOAA Fisheries. Bycatch — the intentional capture of non-target species while fishing — continues to be the biggest risk dealing with 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 stay no less than 60 ft away and to call the Sea Turtle hotline at 1-866-TURTLE-5.

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