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 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 earth.

This was the primary 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 Research.

As soon as the nest was discovered, it was delivered to an incubation facility at Padre Island Nationwide Seashore, Marshall mentioned.

“Each egg matters,” Marshall said. "Quite a lot of nesting habitat for the Kemp's Ridley has been misplaced to storms, high tide and predation, which is why you will need to transport these nests to an surroundings the place they have one of the best chance for survival into maturity."

The species was virtually lost within the 1980s till intensive conservation efforts were implemented on nesting seashores and through fisheries administration, based on NOAA Fisheries. Bycatch — the intentional seize of non-target species while fishing — continues to be the largest risk facing 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 a minimum of 60 ft away and to call the Sea Turtle hotline at 1-866-TURTLE-5.

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