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 discovered on the beachside of Galveston Island State Park last week — the primary nest discovered 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 this planet.

This was the first nest found at Galveston Island State Park since 2012, in accordance with 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 discovered, it was delivered to an incubation facility at Padre Island National Seashore, Marshall said.

“Each egg matters,” Marshall said. "A lot of nesting habitat for the Kemp's Ridley has been lost to storms, excessive tide and predation, which is why it is important to transport these nests to an setting where they have the best chance for survival into maturity."

The species was almost misplaced in the Eighties till intensive conservation efforts have been implemented on nesting seashores and through fisheries management, in keeping with NOAA Fisheries. Bycatch — the intentional seize of non-target species whereas fishing — continues to be the biggest menace 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 stay not less than 60 toes away and to name the Sea Turtle hotline at 1-866-TURTLE-5.

Fill out the form beneath to subscribe our new daily editorial publication from the HPM Newsroom.