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 discovered 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 in the world.

This was the primary 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 Center for Sea Turtle Analysis.

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

“Each egg matters,” Marshall mentioned. "A whole lot of nesting habitat for the Kemp's Ridley has been misplaced to storms, excessive tide and predation, which is why it is important to transport these nests to an surroundings the place they've the most effective chance for survival into adulthood."

The species was nearly misplaced in the Nineteen Eighties till intensive conservation efforts have been applied on nesting seashores and thru fisheries management, in line with NOAA Fisheries. Bycatch — the intentional capture of non-target species while fishing — continues to be the biggest 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 anyone who finds a nest to remain at the least 60 toes away and to name the Sea Turtle hotline at 1-866-TURTLE-5.

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