Endangered sea turtle nest discovered 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 found on the park in over a decade.

The nest contained 107 eggs laid by a Kemp's Ridley sea turtle, which is likely one of the most endangered sea turtle species in the world.

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 Middle for Sea Turtle Analysis.

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

“Every egg issues,” Marshall stated. "Loads of nesting habitat for the Kemp's Ridley has been lost to storms, high tide and predation, which is why you will need to transport these nests to an atmosphere where they have the perfect probability for survival into maturity."

The species was almost lost within the Nineteen Eighties till intensive conservation efforts have been applied on nesting beaches and thru fisheries administration, in keeping with NOAA Fisheries. Bycatch — the intentional seize of non-target species while fishing — continues to be the biggest threat going through 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 remain not less than 60 toes away and to call the Sea Turtle hotline at 1-866-TURTLE-5.

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