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 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 on the earth.

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

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

“Every egg matters,” Marshall stated. "A number of nesting habitat for the Kemp's Ridley has been misplaced to storms, excessive tide and predation, which is why you will need to transport these nests to an surroundings the place they've the best probability for survival into adulthood."

The species was almost lost within the Eighties until intensive conservation efforts were applied on nesting seashores and thru fisheries administration, according to NOAA Fisheries. Bycatch — the intentional capture of non-target species whereas fishing — continues to be the largest menace going through Kemp's Ridley sea turtles.

Marshall stated the typical 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 not less than 60 ft away and to call the Sea Turtle hotline at 1-866-TURTLE-5.

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