#sea turtle

Hawaiʻi Marine Animal Response, the largest Hawaiʻi-based nonprofit dedicated to marine species conservation and field response, is marking its 10th anniversary in 2026. The milestone honors a decade of frontline work protecting endangered Hawaiian monk seals, vulnerable sea turtles, and at-risk seabirds — species whose survival is increasingly shaped by human impact.

Now, as green sea turtle populations recover, the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council is advancing a conversation that many island leaders say is long overdue: what recovery could mean not only for conservation, but also for the possible return of cultural stewardship and sustainable use in the Western Pacific.

A bipartisan appropriations deal passed by the US Senate on Thursday includes millions of dollars in federal funding designated for the acquisition of East Maui rainforest lands, maintenance for Kahului Harbor and an assessment of Maui watersheds.

The Maui Ocean Center Marine Institute hosts a reef cleanup at Kamaʻole Beach I on Saturday, June 1, from 9 to 11 a.m. 

The US Fish and Wildlife Service and NOAA Fisheries have responded to a legal agreement with environmental groups by proposing to designate approximately 2,233 acres of nesting and basking beaches in the main Hawaiian Islands, with additional areas in the northwestern Hawaiian Islands, American Sāmoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands.

The Maui Ocean Center’s Marine Institute has documented more than 200 sick, injured or dead sea turtles on Maui so far this year. According to the organization, 89% of the incidents involved turtles with injuries from fishing gear interactions.

Two Maui residents, a father and his son, are accused of the take and possession of a green sea turtle, a protected species, after being spotted by a DLNR Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement officer on routine patrol.

Currently, the Marine Institute is providing life-saving medical care to nine sea turtle patients, all of which sustained injuries from interactions with fishing gear.

MOCMI’s Sea Turtle Response Team has responded to more than 260 calls in 2020 and has successfully removed fishing gear from 179 green sea turtles.

The annual government bill includes funding for housing, roads, public transit, and infrastructure, as well as Native Hawaiian health and education programs.

Unfortunately, most sea turtles struck by boats do not survive. This year only one turtle was sent to the Maui Ocean Center Marine Institute for Rehabilitation before being released back to the ocean to live another day.

The honu was rescued in late November when it was found entangled in fishing line. A Sea Turtle Rescue Team returned her to the ocean over the weekend.

The lawsuit alleges a failure to protect green sea turtle habitat, which plaintiffs argue face threats from sea-level rise, plastic pollution and warming.

National Marine Fisheries Service: The swordfish fishery is not jeopardizing the continued existence of these sea turtles and authorizes the accidental hooking and subsequent release of 21 leatherbacks and 36 loggerheads.

A lawsuit was filed on Tuesday to block the replacement of approximately 4,800 streetlight fixtures across Maui County with new LED fixtures.

A visitor to Hawaiʻi was fined $1,500 for harassing a monk seal and sea turtle on Kauaʻi and then posting videos with the protected marine species online.

A federal appeals court has issued a ruling in a case involving longline fishing and impacts on protected seabirds and endangered loggerhead sea turtles.

Five Maui bars are teaming up with the Hawaiʻi Wildlife Fund to support the recovery of the Hawaiian Hawksbill sea turtle.

The nest of 241 critically endangered Hawksbill turtle eggs was within inches of collapsing into the surf when the team performed the emergency nest relocation.

Maui Space Surveillance System will receive $11.7 million under a new spending deal reached by congressional appropriators last night.