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 at 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 first 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 Analysis.

Once the nest was discovered, it was dropped at an incubation facility at Padre Island Nationwide Seashore, Marshall mentioned.

“Each egg issues,” Marshall said. "A whole lot 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 atmosphere where they've the most effective likelihood for survival into maturity."

The species was almost misplaced within the 1980s till intensive conservation efforts were carried out on nesting beaches and thru fisheries administration, in line with NOAA Fisheries. Bycatch — the intentional seize of non-target species while fishing — continues to be the biggest menace facing 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 at the least 60 ft away and to name the Sea Turtle hotline at 1-866-TURTLE-5.

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