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 discovered on the park in over a decade.

The nest contained 107 eggs laid by a Kemp's Ridley sea turtle, which is among the most endangered sea turtle species on the planet.

This was the first nest discovered 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 Center for Sea Turtle Research.

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

“Every egg matters,” Marshall stated. "Loads 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 where they have the most effective probability for survival into adulthood."

The species was almost misplaced in the 1980s till intensive conservation efforts were implemented on nesting beaches and thru fisheries administration, in keeping with NOAA Fisheries. Bycatch — the intentional seize of non-target species whereas fishing — continues to be the largest menace facing Kemp's Ridley sea turtles.

Marshall said the everyday 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 toes away and to call the Sea Turtle hotline at 1-866-TURTLE-5.

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