Endangered sea turtle nest found 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 first 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 the planet.

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 Middle for Sea Turtle Research.

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

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

The species was nearly lost in the Eighties until intensive conservation efforts had been applied on nesting seashores and thru fisheries management, in response to NOAA Fisheries. Bycatch — the intentional capture of non-target species while fishing — continues to be the most important menace dealing with 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 anybody who finds a nest to stay no less than 60 feet away and to name the Sea Turtle hotline at 1-866-TURTLE-5.

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