Galveston Sea Turtle Saturday
Set for Feb. 16, 2013

As the 2013 Kemp's ridley nesting season approaches, you'll want to make plans to join the Galveston Island Nature Tourism Council to celebrate, educate and find out how YOU can become involved in helping preserve this extremely endangered species. Make sure to subscribe to our e-newsletter to receive updated information about the event which will take place on Saturday, February 16, 2013.

Kemp’s ridley sea turtle.
Photo used by permission from
Ben Higgins of NOAA

Get up close and personal with a sea turtle
on Sea Turtle Saturday.
Photo by Scott Buckel.

Last year's event featured the story of a Kemp’s ridley turtle “rock star,” along with project presentations by the only facility in the world that raises captive sea turtles specifically for fisheries research.

Dr. Joseph Flanagan, Houston Zoo veterinary service director and pro-bono veterinarian for the NOAA Fisheries Service Sea Turtle Facility since the mid-1980s, shared “One Turtle's Story,” the fascinating saga of a star turtle that has come full cycle, from a “head-started” hatchling to a wounded 2011 nester with a positive prognosis.

Ben Higgins, NOAA Fisheries Service biologist and program manager of the Galveston sea turtle laboratory, explained research efforts to develop turtle-friendly fishing gear, and the challenges of managing the nation's commercial fisheries and sea turtle conservation needs.

Ben Higgins, Research Fishery Biologist,
NOAA Galveston Laboratory speaks at Sea Turtle Saturday
Photo by Scott Buckel.

Lyndsey Howell, also a NOAA Fisheries Service biologist, shared insights of being a first responder to stranded sea turtles and explained the public's vital role in helping with stranded and nesting turtles.

Carole Allen, Gulf office director of the Sea Turtle Restoration Project, discussed the organization's efforts to protect and restore endangered sea turtles. In 2011, a record 199 Kemp's nestlings were found on the Texas Gulf Coast.

The event ended with participants touring the NOAA Fisheries Service sea turtle facility where more than 350 turtles are housed in 30 saltwater tanks.


At the turtle barn.
Photo by Scott Buckel.

© 2012 The Galveston Island Nature Tourism Council.