Author: George H. BalazsPublisher:
ISBN:
Category : Sea turtles
Languages : en
Pages : 8
Book Description
"The only site in the main Hawaiian Islands with a well-documented history of nesting sea turtles is Polihua, a mile-long white sand beach on the northern shore of Lanai. The traditional Hawaiian place name is descriptive of eggs on a beach (Poli-hua, literally 'eggs in bosom, ' Pukui et al. 1976). The available information suggests that Polihua was an important breeding site for the Hawaiian green turtle, Chelonia mydas, until the late 1800's or early 1900's. At present, very little nesting has been reported the there or anywhere else in the main Hawaiian Islands. Most of the extant nesting by green turtles in Hawaii takes place at French Frigate Shoals, 300 miles to the northwest of Kauai (Fig. 1). Green turtles seasonally migrate to this small isolated site from resident coastal foraging pastures throughout the Hawaiian Archipelago (Elalazs 1980). Before 1786, French Frigate Shoals appears to have been unknown, and therefore unexploited, by the people of Hawaii. The area is currently protected as a National Wildlife Refuge. The hawksbill, Eretmochielys imbricata, is a second species of sea turtle that nests in the Hawaiian Islands, but solely in the main islands in small numbers on a few volcanic black sand beaches"--Introduction.