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 found on the beachside of Galveston Island State Park final week — the first 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 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 Middle for Sea Turtle Research.

Once the nest was discovered, it was brought to an incubation facility at Padre Island Nationwide Seashore, Marshall said.

“Each egg matters,” Marshall mentioned. "Lots of nesting habitat for the Kemp's Ridley has been misplaced to storms, high tide and predation, which is why you will need to transport these nests to an atmosphere where they have the very best probability for survival into maturity."

The species was virtually lost within the Nineteen Eighties until intensive conservation efforts had been applied on nesting beaches and through fisheries management, in accordance with NOAA Fisheries. Bycatch — the intentional capture of non-target species whereas fishing — continues to be the most important risk facing 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 anybody who finds a nest to remain not less than 60 toes away and to call the Sea Turtle hotline at 1-866-TURTLE-5.

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