The first sea turtle nest discovered on the Mississippi mainland in four years has been discovered by beach personnel.
Officials say a Harrison County Sand Beach worker cleaning up discovered what looked to be turtle footprints just east of the Pass Christian Harbor.
They safeguarded the area and contacted Gulfport’s Institute for Marine Mammal Studies, which tracked the footprints to a nesting location now marked with poles and tape.
According to Moby Solangi, president of the marine studies organization, the eggs are most likely from a protected loggerhead sea turtle or an even rarer Kemp’s ridley sea turtle, which is the most severely endangered species of sea turtle.
The turtle’s specific species will not be determined until the eggs hatch in 50 to 60 days. Only around one in every 10,000 sea turtle eggs grows to adulthood. Turtles lay 60 to 100 eggs in a nest and have many nests over the season, according to Solangi of The Sun Herald in Biloxi.
According to authorities, this is the first sea turtle nest on mainland Mississippi since 2018, while there have been unverified reports of nests on abandoned barrier islands.
The Mississippi Sound and Gulf of Mexico are vital sea turtle habitats, but Solangi believes that the 2010 oil disaster and the 2019 opening of the Bonnet Carré Spillway have harmed the turtle population.
“After all of our environmental calamities, this is a good indication.” When (turtle numbers) decline, it indicates that the environment that sustains them is suffering. “When animals begin to reproduce, it implies that things have begun to improve,” Solangi explained.
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