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Associated Press
PASS CHRISTIAN, Mississippi (AP) — Beach crews have found a sea turtle nest for the first time in four years on the Mississippi mainland.
Harrison County Sand Beach cleaners found what appeared to be Turtle's truck just east of Christian Harbour, officials said.
They protected the area and called the Marine Mammal Institute in Gulfport. The institute followed a railroad track to reach the nesting site, which is now separated by stakes and tape.
The eggs likely belonged to either a protected loggerhead turtle or the even rarer Kemp's green turtle, an even more endangered species of sea turtle, said the Marine Research Group. CEO Moby Solangi said.
The exact species of a turtle is not known until the eggs she hatches in 50-60 days. About 1 in 10,000 sea turtle eggs reach adulthood. Turtles lay anywhere from 60 to 100 eggs in a nest and build multiple nests during the season, Solangi told The Sun Herald of Biloxi. For the first time since 2016, there have been unofficial reports of nests on the uninhabited barrier island, officials said.
The Mississippi Strait and Gulf of Mexico are important habitats for sea turtles, but the 2010 oil spill and the opening of the Bonnet His Spillway in 2019 have reduced sea turtle populations. , he said Solangi.
"After all the environmental disasters we've experienced, this is a good sign. Fewer [turtle numbers] mean the ecosystems that support them are in trouble." When animals start breeding, it means things are starting to get better,” says Solangi.
