Endangered sea turtle nest discovered 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 final week — the primary nest found 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 in the world.

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 Center for Sea Turtle Analysis.

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

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

The species was almost lost within the 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 largest threat going through Kemp's Ridley sea turtles.

Marshall mentioned 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 no less than 60 toes away and to call the Sea Turtle hotline at 1-866-TURTLE-5.

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