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 last week — the primary nest discovered 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, in keeping with Christopher Marshall, a professor of Marine Biology at Texas A&M and director for the Gulf Middle for Sea Turtle Analysis.

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

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

The species was nearly misplaced in the Eighties until intensive conservation efforts were implemented on nesting seashores and thru fisheries management, in accordance with NOAA Fisheries. Bycatch — the intentional capture of non-target species while fishing — continues to be the most important risk facing Kemp's Ridley sea turtles.

Marshall said the typical 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 at least 60 ft away and to call the Sea Turtle hotline at 1-866-TURTLE-5.

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