Public helps NOAA track turtles around Maui | News, Sports, Jobs

Hauled out Hawaiian green sea turtles snooze on the Makena shore in August last year. While interactions with honu are more common on Maui as the population rebounds, all sea turtles are listed as endangered species in the U.S. and it is a federal offense to harm, harass or touch a turtle. The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photo

A turtle known as MA100 has commonly been seen around Kaanapali since 2021. Another known as MA101 is commonly seen around Kihei but was first sighted at Maalaea Bay in 2021.

They’re among the many honu that scientists have been able to track around Maui thanks to the help of citizen scientists who report sightings of the Hawaiian green sea turtles based on special etchings on their shell. 

The data collected through the citizen science-driven Honu County project helps staff with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries better understand foraging habitats, migration, distribution and the survival status of particular honu across Hawaii.

NOAA recently launched a new online tool to make it easier for folks in the Maui community and statewide to report sightings. 

Since the inception of the Honu Count in 2017, nearly 600 people reported 688 sightings of 253 individual turtles. It’s a way for the public to engage in sea turtle research and conservation, according to NOAA.

Field scientist Jan Willem Staman marks the shell of a green turtle on the beach on East Island in Lalo, the primary location where Hawaiian green sea turtles reproduce. NOAA Fisheries photo

“Reports with GPS coordinates provide valuable, accurate information on where the population of honu are foraging and living, as well as the final stop of their migration after reproducing at Lalo,” NOAA Cheloniologist Camryn Allen said. “The data will be used to track population abundance and monitor the recovery of rehabilitated turtles.”

Previously, sightings were reported through phone calls or emails. This new online system makes it easier to report sightings in real time via a smartphone, tablet or computer, which helps researchers more accurately track honu locations, recently rehabilitated turtles, resident turtle habitat use or when nesting turtles return to their foraging grounds. 

NOAA Fisheries also uses the data collected from the Honu Count to determine the resilience of the Hawaiian green sea turtle in the face of climate change.

In 2015, the listing status of honu under the Endangered Species Act was classified as threatened and the population was increasing at that point in time, Allen said. 

“The population remains protected due, in part, to the potential for climate change to impact important nesting beach habitats,” she said. 

An example of an alpha-numeric identifier on a honu. For those on Maui, the public will likely see turtles, from 10 feet away, with a shell-etch beginning in MA or MG. NOAA Fisheries photo

For example, the primary location where they reproduce is a small, roughly 37 acres of land, called Lalo (or French Frigate Shoals) located 500 miles northwest of the main Hawaiian Islands within the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument. 

Unfortunately, a hurricane in 2018 destroyed the turtles’ primary nesting beach, where about 50 percent of the females in the population lay their eggs. 

“Since then, NOAA scientists have been working to understand how the population is responding to environmental changes at their important nesting and foraging habitat,” she said. 

So, that’s where citizen scientists come into play to provide additional data for NOAA’s research. 

Turtles are identified through a painless etching process on their shells. When biologists conduct field research and surveys in the main and Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, they carefully put letters and numbers using a dremel tool that is similar to those used by nail technicians. 

Then, they apply nontoxic paint to the turtles’ shells to make the numbers visible from afar. The etch indicates where the turtle was found. 

Citizen scientists can decode the etchings by using NOAA’s illustrative map, which shows the codes for each island. 

There are certain turtles — IDs are listed online — that are sighted and reported frequently by the public, providing NOAA with a lot of data of these particular turtles at specific locations. Still, continued reporting of these frequently sighted honu gives professionals a complete picture of their behavior and foraging habits.

For those on Maui, the public will likely see turtles with a shell-etch beginning in MA or MG, Allen said. 

For example, in addition to MA100 and MA101, a honu known as MA145 was sighted at one of the Kamaole Beach Parks in 2021. First sighted at Makena Landing Beach Park in 2021, MA130 can be seen around Kihei and at Keawakapu Beach. MA165 was first sighted in 2021 and can be seen basking on many Lahaina beaches. 

Tips for spotting and reporting turtles include looking for a white alpha-numeric drawing on the right side of the shell near their hind flipper. 

NOAA asks that folks still keep a distance of 10 feet away from the turtles and use binoculars or zoom on a camera to help get a closer look at the numbers. 

Take a photo of the etching without disturbing the turtle, and then record the date, time and location. 

For more information and how to submit the sighting, visit 

To report any emergencies (dead or injured animals), call NOAA’s Marine Wildlife Hotline at (888) 256-9840.

* Dakota Grossman can be reached at .

Hauled out Hawaiian green sea turtles snooze on the Makena shore in August last year. While interactions with honu are more common on Maui as the population rebounds, all sea turtles are listed as endangered species in the U.S. and it is a federal offense to harm, harass or touch a turtle. The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photo

An example of an alpha-numeric identifier on a honu. For those on Maui, the public will likely see turtles, from 10 feet away, with a shell-etch beginning in MA or MG. NOAA Fisheries photo

Field scientist Jan Willem Staman marks the shell of a green turtle on the beach on East Island in Lalo, the primary location where Hawaiian green sea turtles reproduce. NOAA Fisheries photo

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