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 last week — the first 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 this planet.

This was the primary nest found at Galveston Island State Park since 2012, according to Christopher Marshall, a professor of Marine Biology at Texas A&M and director for the Gulf Center for Sea Turtle Research.

As soon as the nest was discovered, it was delivered to an incubation facility at Padre Island Nationwide Seashore, Marshall stated.

“Each egg issues,” Marshall stated. "Quite a lot 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 where they have the best probability for survival into adulthood."

The species was almost misplaced within the Nineteen Eighties until intensive conservation efforts had been implemented on nesting seashores and thru fisheries administration, in accordance with NOAA Fisheries. Bycatch — the intentional seize of non-target species while fishing — continues to be the largest threat going through Kemp's Ridley sea turtles.

Marshall mentioned the everyday 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 no less than 60 feet away and to call the Sea Turtle hotline at 1-866-TURTLE-5.

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