All About Honus
THE HAWAIIAN GREEN SEA TURTLE
Honu Hawaii is an homage to our beloved Hawaiian Green Sea Turtle. Turtles or honu are among the oldest known animals in Hawaiian waters. To the Hawaiian people, sea turtles are sacred creatures. They embody good luck, protection, endurance and long life.
Honu were protected by kapu restrictions, the system of taboos that governed the ancient Hawaiian people, under which their population was carefully regulated. Honu were considered the property of the ali'i, the Hawaiian chiefs. They harvested turtles, eating the meat, using the bones for fishhooks and keeping the shells for containers. Honu were also depicted in petroglyphs, showing their importance to the ancient Hawaiians.
Some families also consider the Hawaiian green sea turtle an aumakua, a type of ancestral deity. In traditional Hawaiian culture, it’s believed that the spirits of ancestors stay around to protect and comfort their families.
It’s estimated that honu have existed as a species for 40-50 million years.
Honus migrate long distances between their feeding grounds and nesting beaches. Like all other sea turtles, the green turtle crawls on shore to lay her eggs. Turtles return to the place of their own birth to mate and make their nests. For most Hawaiian turtles, this involves a migration to the quieter shores of Papahānaumokuākea, northwest of Hawaii.
The nesting ritual of the sea turtle is as ancient as it is unique. When the female is ready to lay her eggs, she waits in the surf until the calm and coolness of the evening. She climbs over the sand and uses her flippers to dig a two foot deep hole, then crouches over it and lays her eggs. During a single season she might create three or four nests with up to 100 eggs in each. After filling the nest with sand, she will dart back to the water, her mission complete. She will return to the same beach in two to three years, when she mates again.
Not all her eggs will hatch, and not all the tiny two-inch, hatchlings will be able to run across the beach into the safety of the ocean. Rats, mongooses, birds, crabs, dogs, and even people prey on the precious eggs. The honu that do survive can live up to 90 years and grow up to 45 inches in length.
Honus love to snack on sea sponges, an organism and type of sea grass that commonly grows in the coral gardens of Hawaii. A full grown honu can weigh 200-400 lbs... that takes a lot of sea sponges! Eating these plants helps to maintain a good ecological balance in which other reptiles and fish can thrive, kind of like a biological lawn mower.
Honus are spectacular creatures. It’s easy to see why the honu has captured so many hearts in Hawaii.
The population in Hawaii has been increasing by 5% per year during the last two decades.
Because of the sharp historical decline in sea turtle populations, the honu is fully protected under the Endangered Species Act. No one should approach, harass or touch the honu. NOAA and DLNR recommend, for guest safety and the animals' protection, that everyone stay at least 10 feet (3 meters) from all sea turtles.
Honu Conservation
Honu Hawaii is proud to partner with The Papahānaumokuākea Marine Debris Project (PMDP), a non-profit that works with volunteers and partners to remove marine debris from beaches and coral reefs in the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument. The organization's mission is to protect the unique marine ecosystem of the monument by conducting large scale debris missions removing harmful marine debris and educating the public about the impact of plastic pollution on the environment.
Hawaiian Green Sea Turtles are threatened by habitat loss, climate change, and pollution, among other factors. The waters surrounding Papahānaumokuākea are some of the most productive and biodiverse marine ecosystems in the world, with a high concentration of nutrients that support a diverse array of marine life. The area provides an essential habitat for the turtles, including seagrass beds, coral reefs, and rocky shores, which provide nesting sites, shelter, and food. Protecting critical habitats like Papahānaumokuākea is essential to ensuring the survival of this species.
A portion of every ticket sale goes towards this organization's mission.