Rare sea turtle lays eggs on Texas beach for first time in modern history

MAGNOLIA BEACH, Texas (KABB) — In a miraculous event, the world's rarest species of sea turtles laid eggs and they recently hatched on a Texas beach.

The event took place on Magnolia Beach, near Port Lavaca along Texas' southern coastline.

“This has never happened in modern times,” Dr. Pamela Plotkin, director of Texas Sea Grant and sea turtle biologist told Texas A&M College of Geosciences. “Sea turtles typically nest on barrier island beaches in Texas and so seeing a turtle nest on a beach inside any bay is rare. There are many miles of unpopulated bay shoreline along Texas’ coast, so it is possible that sea turtle nesting on these shores is more frequent and undetected.”

For any turtle, their eggs only have about a 45% chance of hatching due to predators, rising temperatures or beach visitors. And the first few moments after hatching is even more treacherous, as they must race to the sea before becoming a meal for a hungry predator or many other hazards.

The turtles on Magnolia Beach were lucky to be found by Zach Padron and Jason Gonzalez, maintenance workers with the Calhoun County Precinct 1 Commissioner’s Office, who called Calhoun County Marine Extension Agent RJ Shelly, who helped excavate the rest of the turtles from the nest and helped get them safely into Matagorda Bay.

Dr. Plotkin was sent photos of the turtles by Shelly and identified them as Kemp's ridley sea turtles, the smallest sea turtle in the world. It is also the official state sea turtle of Texas and is critically endangered.

Plotkin told CNN that Kemp's ridley sea turtles "were once very abundant, and because they were overharvested and caught accidentally in fisheries for many years, they became critically endangered."

But in the last 40 years, the population has started to recover thanks to the work of conservationists. They have implemented programs to protect sea turtle nests and reduce accidental deaths caused by fishing nets.

"Most of them nest at only one beach in Mexico," said Plotkin. "They have started spreading north, and now we have a few hundred that will come and lay their eggs on Texas beaches."

The hatching comes at a special time. June 8-16 marks the celebration of Sea Turtle Week, an internationally recognized week that celebrates sea turtles and educates on the threats they face.