Endangered sea turtle nest discovered 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 found on the park in over a decade.

The nest contained 107 eggs laid by a Kemp's Ridley sea turtle, which is one of the most endangered sea turtle species on this planet.

This was the primary 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 Research.

Once the nest was found, it was dropped at an incubation facility at Padre Island National Seashore, Marshall stated.

“Every egg matters,” Marshall stated. "Loads of nesting habitat for the Kemp's Ridley has been lost to storms, excessive tide and predation, which is why it is important to transport these nests to an setting where they've the best probability for survival into adulthood."

The species was nearly lost within the 1980s until intensive conservation efforts were carried out on nesting seashores and through fisheries management, in line with NOAA Fisheries. Bycatch — the intentional seize of non-target species while fishing — continues to be the largest 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 anybody who finds a nest to stay a minimum of 60 feet away and to name the Sea Turtle hotline at 1-866-TURTLE-5.

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