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 discovered on the beachside of Galveston Island State Park final 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 without doubt one of the most endangered sea turtle species on the 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 dropped at an incubation facility at Padre Island Nationwide Seashore, Marshall said.

“Each egg matters,” Marshall said. "A number of nesting habitat for the Kemp's Ridley has been lost to storms, excessive tide and predation, which is why you will need to transport these nests to an environment where they've the very best likelihood for survival into maturity."

The species was almost lost within the Nineteen Eighties till intensive conservation efforts were implemented on nesting beaches and through fisheries administration, in accordance with NOAA Fisheries. Bycatch — the intentional seize of non-target species while fishing — continues to be the most important risk going through Kemp's Ridley sea turtles.

Marshall said 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 ft away and to name the Sea Turtle hotline at 1-866-TURTLE-5.

Fill out the form under to subscribe our new every day editorial e-newsletter from the HPM Newsroom.