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 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 among the most endangered sea turtle species on the earth.

This was the first nest discovered at Galveston Island State Park since 2012, based on Christopher Marshall, a professor of Marine Biology at Texas A&M and director for the Gulf Middle for Sea Turtle Analysis.

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

“Each egg issues,” Marshall said. "Plenty 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 atmosphere where they've the most effective probability for survival into maturity."

The species was virtually misplaced within the Nineteen Eighties until intensive conservation efforts were carried out on nesting seashores and through fisheries administration, in accordance with NOAA Fisheries. Bycatch — the intentional capture of non-target species while fishing — continues to be the most important menace 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 the least 60 feet away and to name the Sea Turtle hotline at 1-866-TURTLE-5.

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