Texas A&M University issued the following announcement on March 26.
Texas A&M University at Galveston is delaying the start of Upper Texas Coast sea turtle patrol season due to strong recommendation from the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) in response to the COVID-19 and coronavirus pandemic.
The Upper Texas Coast is one of five sea turtle nesting projects along the Texas coast. The USFWS leads the statewide program in conjunction with Dr. Donna Shaver, head of the Division of Sea Turtle Science and Recovery at Padre Island National Seashore.
Sea turtle patrols begin their work statewide between April 1 and July 15 each year. Volunteers search and monitor long stretches of beach looking for signs of nesting.
Due to the northern location of the Upper Texas Coast, Kemp’s ridley sea turtles nest later here than in Mexico or South Texas, according to Dr. Christopher Marshall, Texas A&M-Galveston Department of Marine Biology professor and director of the Gulf Center for Sea Turtle Research. Marshall says nesting records show that over the last seven years, the first nest recorded on the Upper Texas Coast occurred in May.
Based upon these data and the global threats posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the USFWS and the National Park Service strongly recommended that Texas A&M University-Galveston delay the Upper Texas Coast Sea Turtle Patrol season four to six weeks, until approximately May 1, 2020.
“The decision to delay the start of our patrols was a difficult one, but we must put human health and safety first. The timing of the delay is a good compromise since all of our nests over the past five years or more have been in May,” Marshall stated.
The decision to delay patrols was made as a measure to mitigate risks to volunteers, staff, students and the community during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Statewide meetings of all sea turtle patrol leads will occur every two weeks to reassess the situation.
For more information on Texas A&M-Galveston’s coronavirus and COVID-19 response, please visit: tamug.edu/COVID-19.
Original source can be found here.
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