The
first confirmed endangered hawksbill turtle nest on Kauai was recently found at Wailua
Beach, just feet from where the county plans to install the concrete
Path.
A
Kauai man and his wife were walking on the beach this past Sunday
morning when they discovered the nest, which had been exposed by big
surf. “All of the eggs were mostly open and
the babies were all gone,” the man wrote in an email. “Some
did not make it, but most did.”
The couple contacted the Monk Seal Watch and a volunteer came out to view the
nest and collect the unhatched eggs, which were taken to Don Heacock,
the state aquatic biologist for Kauai.
Don
today said the eggs were indeed laid by a critically endangered
hawksbill turtle, “making
this the first documented case of hawksbills nesting on Kauai. They
nest on Maui and the Big Island. Of course we have more green sea
turtles nesting than they do.”
Don
said the nest was in the middle of the beach, across from the Coco Palms. “A majority of the nest hatched. There were a few unhatched
eggs, and those embryos will be sent to [federal sea turtle
scientist] George Balazs for DNA analysis.”
The
man who found the nest wrote that he was concerned because it was
“right near where they want to put a concrete walk way and cut down
the trees which may disturb the nesting area.”
Among
the primary threats to hawksbills are habitat
loss of coral reef communities and increased
recreational and commercial use of nesting beaches in the Pacific,
according to a National Marine Fisheries Service website.
“In
particular, increased recreational and commercial use of nesting
beaches, beach camping and fires, litter and other refuse, general
harassment of turtles, and loss of nesting habitat from human
activities negatively impact hawksbills,” according to the website.
Meanwhile, severe erosion continues at Wailua Beach, where the county plans to soon begin removing trees in preparation for digging down about 18 inches to pour sections of concrete for the Path. The sections will be taken up only if erosion threatens the highway, according to county officials.
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8 comments:
There goes another nesting habitat.
Since it is "endangered" - doesn’t that temporarily stop the project?
Wailua Beach is hardly habitat for anything except sewerage and dirt. A soon-to-be four lane...........
and you people flap over some concrete slabs that can be removed?
good grief. The looney left is alive and well.
Like it or not, it's obviously habitat for the hawksbill turtle, 9:25 pm.
Emergency CEASE & DESIST needed! Critical Reproductive Habitat for a Critically Endangered Species changes everything. New EIS under NEPA. Way more critical than for green sea turtles.
There are about 40 hawksbill turtle nests anually on Hawaii Island. Hawksbill in Hawaiian is ea, also synonymous with sovereignty.
Just wondering IF Anthropologist Scientist Hal Hammet and his certified team of archeaologists from Cultural Survey's Hawaii found any evidence of Wailua Beach being a nesting area for the Endangered Hawksbill Turtle?? It is documented that Cultural Survey Hawaii did a scientific study of this area prior to this construction work commencing! I guess it would be hard for him or anyone else on his team to notice that Wailua Beach is a Turtle nesting area, when scientific testing was done with a back hoe and bob cat!!
Kanaloa will decide the outcome of the path...not idiot county officials. The arrival of Honu ea is hoailona, a sign. Humans thinking they can outsmart mother nature is symptomatic of our human arrogance. The sacred land of Wailuanuiahoano will rise up and protect what our so-called County Government refused to do.
Wailua Beach is what needs to be on the ENDANGERED list. The beach is erroding faster than the county or any governmental official wants to admit. Please tear down CoCo Palms and rebuild then economics will drive the beach to be preserved.
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