HPA Sea Turtle Research and Conservation Program Activites

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

Wailea Bay Research Project

7/24/2019

A few weeks ago, Bill White (Parent of HPA grads Paul and Ryan White) contacted Laura Jim and Marc Rice about our possible participation in a research project surrounding the protection of Wailea Bay, Hawaii Island. We were, of course, thrilled to take part in the project as it will allow many of our students to participate in gathering and analyzing data, mapping coral in the bay using ARCGIS online, conducting under water transects to formulate a baseline of coral health in the bay and publishing the information for public consumption.
NOTE: Thanks to Bill Wiecking and the E Lab for providing the drone and a special thanks to Ethan Goore for doing all of the hard work of piloting and garnering the images!

Wailea Bay with the Marine Life Conservation District (MLCD) mauka of the yellow line.

To start off the project, we were asked if we could map fresh water outflow into the bay. Utilizing a FLIR infrared camera we took pictures of the bay using a DJI Mavic drone to see if we could
differentiate fresh water from salt water based on the fact that the fresh ground water flowing into the bay would be colder that ocean water. We have yet to look at the pictures but we did go down and fly the mission. Ethan Goore (HPA class of '21) piloted the drone using Drone Deploy software. Below are a few pictures of the days activities. As soon as we get the pictures stitched together, I will share them with you.

Pilot Ethan Goore and Wailea resident Bill White.

Just about ready to take off.

The Mavic pro drone with FLIR IR camera.

Ethan landing the drone by "hand capture".

A picture of the south side of Wailea Bay at 1000 h on 7/24/2019.

The north end of Wailea Bay at 1000 h on 7/24/2019.

Saturday, July 6, 2019

Thirtieth Turtle Independence Day Celebration

7/4/2019
HPA Summer School Students, Laura Jim and Marc Rice joined a small group of observers to assist in the release of two Mauna Lani turtles. This years celebration was very much smaller because the Mauna Lani Hotel is still under renovation.
For a more complete recap of the days activities please see MLBH RELEASE.

HPA Summer School Students released one of the turtles on July 4th.

Thursday, April 25, 2019

HPA / NOAA Sea Turtle Sex Ratio Project

During the Week of April 8 to April 11, a team of NOAA scientists from the Marine Turtle Biology and Assessment Program joined the HPA Sea Turtle Research Programs Laura Jim, Marc Rice and HPA students to study the sex-ratios of green sea turtle foraging in shallow coastal waters around the state of Hawaii. One day was give to logistics and presentations by the NOAA scientists and three days were field tagging days where we were able to capture and tag/sample 47 green turtles. To learn more about the project and the students participating in the project please go to our Sex-Ratio Project Blog

Thursday, March 7, 2019

HPA Students Present at 39th Internatiuonal Sea Turtle Symnposium

February, 2019

The International Sea Turtle Symposium took place in Charleston South Carolina from February 2 to February 8, 2019. A contingent of 4 researchers from HPA (Sara, Holly, Laura and Marc-see picture below) traveled to Charleston from Hawaii and from Germany to present our research on post-nesting migration of hawksbill turtles from Moso Island, Republic of Vanuatu. While there we attended several workshops, visited the beautiful city of Charleston and presented our research.

Chinese Visitors Join Tagging Trip to Puako

January 29, 2019

22 Puako Beach Road-

On January 29, 2019 we conducted a tagging trip at 20-22 Puako Beach Road, Puako, Hawaii.

We worked up 13 animals (3 recaptures and 10 new captures). Seven HPA students, Ms. Jim, Mr. Rice, George Balazs, Matt Ramsey (Conservation International) and three visitors from China participated in the day long event.

Several of our students are Chinese or speak Mandarin which was very helpful for our visitors. The students and guests did a great job working together to safely capture and tag the 13 honu. Overall the honu were is good health with only a couple of them showing signs of poor nutrition.

Below is a short note from Matt Ramsey, Hawaii Director, Conservation International:

In January 2019, Conservation International hosted a visit from high level officials from the Chinese Government’s Ministry of Agriculture. The delegation visited Hawaii to learn about the management of turtles, dolphins, and fisheries in our islands and collaboratively explore management practices that can address the declining resources in their country and throughout the world. Over a period of three days, the delegation met with Governor Ige, government resource managers, and representatives from the hospitality industry to learn about Hawaii’s sustainability initiatives and innovative resource management. On the last day of the visit, they had a tremendous opportunity to participate in a turtle tagging trip with Hawaii Preparatory Academy.

Under the careful guidance of Marc Rice, Laura Jim, and George Balazs, the delegation participated in the tagging of green sea turtles. This alone is an incredible opportunity for anyone to participate in, but this particular experience was special. This was an opportunity to catalyze global change. It was a chance for high level decision makers to physically interact with these special creatures and experience firsthand, how they can thrive. Throughout the experience, the smiles on the faces of the delegation were equally bright due to another factor…HPA’s local and international students. They recognized that it is critical for the next generation to become involved in these activities to ensure that progress is carried forward, not only locally, but also on a global scale. It is uncertain what messages the delegation will take home with them, but it is certainly one of hope.

A slide show of some of the activities during the day.

Below are some pictures of the HPA research team