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HAWAIIAN SEA TURTLESHAWAIIAN SEA TURTLES
"Keeping
Our Heads Below Water!"™
INTRODUCTION:
There are three species of sea turtles
native to the Hawaiian Islands: the Green, the Hawksbill, and the
Leatherback. These fascinating creatures have played important
roles in the environment and culture of Hawaii's people. Of the
three native sea turtles, the Green Turtle (Honu) is the most
common. These turtles, which can weigh up to 400 pounds, are
primarily vegetarians. They eat algae or limu (Hawaiian seaweed)
growing underwater on coral reefs and on rocks close to shore.
Green turtles prefer to live near large "pastures" of
limu that are located in near shore waters around the Hawaiian
Islands. The carapaces (upper shells) of adults are dark with
olive or gold flecks and receive their name from the color of their body fat rather than their shell color.
Small numbers of the rare Hawksbill are
found around the islands of Moloka'i and Hawaii (The Big Island),
where a few females have nested in recent years. This small to
medium sized sea turtle inhabits coral reefs and uses it's long,
narrow beak to probe for sponges and other bottom dwelling
invertebrates.
The
Leatherback does not nest on or come close to Hawaii's shores. It
is seen regularly on the open ocean where it feeds almost
exclusively on jellyfish. Weighing as much as 1500 pounds,
leatherbacks are the giants of the world's sea turtles. This
species is the only sea turtle without a hard shell.
Sea turtles are graceful saltwater reptiles, well
adapted to life in their marine world. With streamlined bodies
and flipper-like limbs, they are able to swim long distances in
relatively short time. When they are active, sea turtles must
swim to the ocean surface to breathe every few minutes. When they
are resting, they can remain underwater for as long as 2 1/2
hours without breathing. Green turtles often rest in caves or
under ledges in deep water.
NESTING:
Although sea turtles live most of their lives in the
ocean, adult females must return to land in order to lay their
eggs. Scientists believe that nesting female turtles return to
the same beach on which they were born. Hawaii's green turtles
migrate up to 800 miles from their feeding areas near the coast
of the main islands to nesting beaches in the Northwestern
Hawaiian Islands. The males accompany the females in this
migration and mate with them offshore from the nesting beaches.
Females often come ashore to nest
several times in a season, but wait two to three years before
nesting again. Green turtles nest only at night and can be
frightened away by lights or movement. It is not easy for these
turtles to find a suitable nesting site on land, where they no
longer have the buoyancy of water to support their bodies. While
on land, these animals shed large, sticky tears that remove
excess salt from the body and prevent the eyes from being covered
with sand.
When a female finds a suitable nesting site, she uses her flippers to dig a body pit about her. She then digs a flask-shaped egg cavity with her rear flippers. This arduous effort generally lasts all night. After depositing about 100 eggs, the female covers the nest with sand and returns to the sea, leaving the eggs to incubate during the next two months.
After hatching, the tiny, one-ounce turtles take
several days to emerge from the nest. A single hatchling would
not be able to emerge from the nest by itself. Working as a team,
hatchlings scrape sand off the roof of the nest cavity and pack
this sand on the floor. In doing so, hatchlings raise their nest
toward the surface of the beach. When they are about an inch from
the surface, the topmost hatchlings cease their activities if the
sand is hot. Cool sand indicates that it is night or an overcast
day. The hatchlings then emerge from the nest, thereby avoiding
the sun's heat and perhaps predatory birds.
Once out of
the nest, the hatchlings race to the water and swim constantly
for the next 36 to 48 hours. They are then carried by currents to
favorable areas in the open ocean, where they grow for several
years until they join adult and juvenile turtles at the coastal
feeding grounds. While in the open ocean, young green turtles are
probably carnivorous and feed on invertebrates such as jellyfish.
Some hatchlings never reach the oceans and are snatched up by hungry crabs. Hatchlings may also be disoriented or impeded by obstacles and die from the suns heat. Once in the ocean, sharks and other carnivorous fish eat hatchlings. Due to their size and swiftness in the water, adult sea turtles have only two predators: sharks and people. Tiger sharks regularly feed on all sizes of green turtles.
GROWTH:
The
life span of sea turtles is unknown. Hawaiian green turtles seem
to grow very slowly in the wild and may take 40 to 50 years to
reach sexual maturity. Male and female green turtles look like
they are mature, then the male develops a long tail extending
beyond the hind flippers. A female's tail extends only a short
distance beyond the end of her shell.
Generally, only female sea turtles leave the ocean
after entering it as hatchlings. But in the Northwestern Hawaiian
Islands male and female green turtles crawl onto beaches and lie
motionless in the sunlight for hours. Turtles may bask in order
to increase their body temperature or to avoid tiger sharks.
EXTINCTION:
Six of the seven species of sea turtles are listed
as endangered or threatened under the Federal Endangered Species
Act. An endangered species is in immediate danger of extinction;
a threatened species is one that is likely to become endangered
in the near future. In Hawaii, the green turtle is a threatened
species. The Hawksbill and Leatherback turtles are considered
endangered species worldwide.
Once there were tens of millions of green sea turtles around the world. Now there may be fewer than 200,000 mature females. Only 100 to 350 females nest each year, principally at French Frigate Shoals in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. Because hawksbills do not nest in groups and leatherbacks do not nest in Hawaii at all, it is difficult to make good estimates for the size of these two species in Hawaii.
PROTECTION:All sea turtles in Hawaii are fully protected under state law in addition to the Federal Endangered Species Act. These laws prohibit harassing, harming, killing, or keeping sea turtles in captivity without a permit allowing these activities for research or educational purposes. Divers should be aware that riding turtles is illegal and puts these animals under stress. When returning from foreign countries, U.S. citizens may not enter the United States with any sea turtle products. Violators may receive penalties of up to one year in prison and a $20,000 fine.
If you see turtles being captured, harmed or killed, please call:
Enforcement
Division of the National Marine Fisheries Service - (808) 541-2727
Oahu - (808) 548-5918
Maui - (808) 244-4414
Big Island - (808) 961-7291
Kaua'i - (808) 245-4444
Lana'i - (808) 565-6688
Moloka'i - (808) 567-6618
You can aid in sea
turtle recovery by reporting nesting or basking activities,
dead, sick, injured, or incidentally captured turtles to the:
Honolulu
Laboratory of National Marine Fisheries Service - (808) 943-1221
Sea Life Park - (808) 259-7933
Waikiki Aquarium - (808) 923-9741
For further information contact:
Western Pacific
Program Office
National Marine Fisheries Service
2570 Dole Street
Honolulu, HI 96822-2396
(808) 955-8831
If you have any questions or comments, please call us:
In Hawaii: (808) 669.6284
or (808) 667.5309
Toll Free: (800) 994.MAUI(6284)
Send us an e-mail
P.O. Box 11415 Lahaina, Maui, HI 96761
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