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 last week — the first nest found at 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 the earth.

This was the first nest found at Galveston Island State Park since 2012, in response to Christopher Marshall, a professor of Marine Biology at Texas A&M and director for the Gulf Center for Sea Turtle Research.

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

“Every egg issues,” Marshall stated. "A whole 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 environment where they have one of the best chance for survival into adulthood."

The species was nearly lost within the Eighties until intensive conservation efforts had been carried out on nesting seashores and through fisheries management, in line with NOAA Fisheries. Bycatch — the intentional capture of non-target species while fishing — continues to be the most important threat dealing with 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 not less than 60 toes away and to call the Sea Turtle hotline at 1-866-TURTLE-5.

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