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 discovered on the beachside of Galveston Island State Park final week — the primary 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 first nest found 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 Heart for Sea Turtle Analysis.

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

“Every 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 very important transport these nests to an surroundings where they've the most effective probability for survival into maturity."

The species was virtually lost within the 1980s till intensive conservation efforts have been applied on nesting beaches and through fisheries management, in response to NOAA Fisheries. Bycatch — the intentional capture of non-target species while fishing — continues to be the biggest risk facing Kemp's Ridley sea turtles.

Marshall mentioned the standard 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 not less than 60 feet away and to name the Sea Turtle hotline at 1-866-TURTLE-5.

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