Padre Island National Seashore             

Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtle Research

Following the Kemp’s ridley on their perilous trek from Padre Island National Seashore, TX, where they are establishing a secondary nesting colony, to the Gulf of Mexico, is tricky business. Satellite transmitters are attached to a select number of females returning to the sea after laying eggs, their movements tracked by receivers picking up the signals emitted from their backpacks. This signal tells the scientists where the adults are feeding and resting before making their journey back to the island. The transmitters can last up to 18 months on their backs before failing or falling off. Information from the transmitter/receiver data shows that the turtles are primarily inhabiting shallower waters along the coastline along the Gulf of Mexico, including waters off the state of Tamaulipas, Mexico, and U.S. Gulf Coast states. In addition, necropsies of Kemp’s ridleys washed onshore verify that these adults are primarily feeding on crabs. Just knowing what areas of this Gulf coast that might need special protection is valuable information for wildlife authorities.

The scarcity of Kemp’s ridleys about 20 years ago prompted efforts to establish a protected nesting colony in the United States. From 1978-1988, an international project began with the intent to increase the number of Kemp’s ridley nesting on Padre Island National Seashore. This ambitious program had one grand goal - the conservation and recovery of this ancient sea species. Eggs were airlifted from Rancho Nuevo, Mexico to south Texas, hatched in controlled conditions, and released along the south Texas shore of the Gulf of Mexico. Scientists hoped that turtles would eventually return to nest and establish a colony at Padre Island National Seashore where protection and care are available. Now, 10 to 15 year old mature Kemp’s ridley females are returning to the south Texas coast to nest. Many are found nesting on Padre Island National Seashore, identified by their coded markings from the hatching program established 20 years ago. The first known female to return and nest was in 1996, hatched at Padre Island National Seashore in 1983. Since 1996, nine marked females nested on north Padre Island and nearby Mustang Island.

Stretches of beach along the Gulf of Mexico near Rancho Nuevo, Mexico are the primary nesting sites for Kemp’s ridleys. Rancho Nuevo is located in the southern State of Tamaulipas. Prior to establishing the secondary nesting colony at Padre Island National Seashore, Texas, a few nested sporadically to the north and south of Rancho Nuevo, on Padre Island, and in the States of Veracruz and Tabasco (Mexico). Known feeding grounds for adult Kemp’s ridley are in the Gulf of Mexico, including the crab-rich shallow waters off Texas, Louisiana, around the Mississippi Delta, and Tabasco-Campeche, Mexico.

Kemp’s ridleys are not shy about laying their eggs. They amble onshore, dig a nest, and deposit the eggs in broad daylight, very different from other sea turtles that crawl ashore at night to lay their eggs. Also unique to their behavior, females often nest in large numbers at the same time in the same area called an “arribada.” A ridley’s nest will contain around 100 eggs, and research shows that some females will lay eggs in more than one nest during the same summer, but they prefer the Gulf of Mexico beaches. Even though sea turtles begin their life on land, they spend most of their life in water. But, for the newly hatched young, the water environment is a whole new world.

Young Kemp’s ridley sea turtles newly hatched from eggs in research incubators must make their way to the Gulf for the first time. This first journey is one of the most dangerous activities that the Kemp’s ridley must survive, entering a watery environment, although it is one that their genes are programmed to understand. The open sea, cold water, boat propellers, shrimp trawls, shark nets, and predators, are just a few of the perils facing the hatchlings. But, for the Kemp’s ridley, just being a hatchling is a positive step towards population recovery, since successfully hatching eggs was not that common only a few years ago. Eggs are collected from nests discovered by trained people patrolling the Padre Island beaches watching for nesting activity. These eggs are incubated in a seashore laboratory under controlled conditions to ensure high survival rates. After hatching, the young ridleys are released on Padre Island National Seashore with the hopes of their return in 10 years or so to nest there, where Kemp’s ridley nesting is already increasing.

Research Partners

Protecting Kemp’s ridleys is a cooperative venture of the U.S. Geological Survey, National Park Service (Padre Island National Seashore), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Marine Fisheries Service, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Mexico’s Instituto Nacional de la Pesca, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Shell Oil Company Foundation, National Park Foundation, Unilever,  H.E.A.R.T., University of Texas, University of Charleston, University of Alabama, Frostburg State University, Norcross Wildlife Foundation, Western National Parks Association, Alvin and Lucy Owsley Foundation, Forever Resorts, H.E.B., Gladys Porter Zoo, Sea Turtle, Inc., Seaspace.