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 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 without doubt 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 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 discovered, it was delivered to an incubation facility at Padre Island Nationwide Seashore, Marshall mentioned.

“Each egg issues,” Marshall said. "Quite a lot of nesting habitat for the Kemp's Ridley has been misplaced to storms, excessive tide and predation, which is why it is very important transport these nests to an setting where they have the best likelihood for survival into adulthood."

The species was almost lost in the 1980s till intensive conservation efforts have been applied on nesting beaches and thru fisheries management, according to NOAA Fisheries. Bycatch — the intentional capture of non-target species whereas fishing — continues to be the most important 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 anyone who finds a nest to remain at least 60 feet away and to call the Sea Turtle hotline at 1-866-TURTLE-5.

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