Green Sea Turtles Have Rebounded. Should Hawaiians Be Able To Eat Them?

Mac Poepoe grew up diving in the waters off Molokai to spear honu — Hawaii’s distinctive green sea turtle — to help feed his family. He also witnessed other fishermen hunt honu commercially, selling the prized meat to shops and restaurants on neighboring Maui.

These widespread commercial harvests contributed to the honu being placed on the federal endangered species list in 1978, when Poepoe was 29 years old. The designation offered no cultural exemptions for Native Hawaiians who, like Poepoe, had sustainably harvested the turtles for generations.

“What it does, it criminalizes us,” Poepoe said. “That law applies to everybody like us that was born eating turtle. It’s not our primary source of food, but it’s one of our resources that we rely on.”

For decades, debate has simmered over whether federal turtle protections overreach by prohibiting traditional Hawaiian practices alongside the commercial harvests that decimated honu populations. Now, following the species’ remarkable recovery, momentum is building to revive cultural harvests.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) actually declared Hawaiian green sea turtles were no longer endangered more than a decade ago. Last month, the organization expanded this classification to green sea turtles worldwide, categorizing them as a species of “least concern,” indicating they face less than a 10% chance of extinction in the next century.

Despite these assessments, the U.S. government maintains the endangered species designation, keeping honu fully protected under federal law.

Weeks before the IUCN’s global reclassification, Kitty Simonds, Executive Director of the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council (Wespac), urged federal fisheries leaders to help restore rights for cultural harvesting of green sea turtles for purposes such as traditional meals.

George Balazs, a retired federal fisheries biologist with more than 45 years dedicated to honu protection, believes it’s time for change. “Clearly there’s ample turtles in Hawaii these days that some can be sustainably and legally used by the native people of these islands for their own chosen traditional cultural purposes,” he said.

Balazs added that many of his former colleagues at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) privately share this view but are reluctant to speak publicly. NOAA officials did not respond to questions about the honu’s protected status, as many fisheries staff remained furloughed during the federal government shutdown.

Federal officials last evaluated removing the honu from the Endangered Species List in the early 2010s but decided to maintain its protected status. Both Balazs and Poepoe support delisting the honu and transferring management to state authorities, who could permit cultural harvesting while maintaining bans on commercial exploitation.

Honu sightings in nearshore waters have become commonplace in recent years, transforming them into a popular tourist attraction. At Laniākea on O’ahu, visitors regularly slow traffic to observe turtles basking on shore. Such sightings were once rare.

The species’ population plummeted following European contact, as honu became prized for soup and other delicacies. Locals harvested them not only for sustenance but also to can and sell the meat commercially.

Recovery began after federal protection. In the 1970s, Balazs counted just 67 nesting females at East Island in French Frigate Shoals, the species’ primary nesting ground located about 550 miles northwest of Honolulu. By 2004, that number had increased to 467 nesting females. A 2019 study estimated the honu population had reached 83% of its “pre-exploitation” levels.

Despite this success, federal officials have maintained the endangered species designation, citing climate change threats and sea level rise. They’ve consistently denied exemptions for Native Hawaiians seeking to resume traditional, non-commercial harvesting.

This issue has precedent in legal challenges. Over 30 years ago, two Native Hawaiians — Daryl Nuesca and Daniel Peter Kaneholani — unsuccessfully sued the government, arguing the ban violated their cultural rights. They pointed out that some Alaska Native tribes have exemptions to hunt endangered species. However, the court ruled these cases differed because the Alaska tribes heavily depended on those animals for subsistence.

Simonds recently noted that the Inter-American Convention for the Protection and Conservation of Sea Turtles, to which the U.S. is a signatory, restricts harvests across the Pacific, allowing exemptions only for economic reasons. In her letter to NOAA officials, she urged exploration of changes to this international agreement.

Wespac’s advocacy for resuming turtle harvests has sparked controversy. In 2014, the group was reprimanded by federal officials when staff improperly helped craft a petition to remove the honu from the endangered species list. The petition came from the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs after the Maunalua Hawaiian Club, led by Simonds, introduced the proposal.

Not all Native Hawaiians support resuming traditional harvests. Kevin Chang, executive director of KUA, a nonprofit promoting community-based resource management, noted the organization has discussed the issue but never reached consensus.

According to Poepoe, on Molokai, generational differences emerge in these discussions. Hawaiians born after the 1978 ban tend to oppose harvests, while those who rely heavily on hunting and fishing for sustenance often support the practice.

“I look at management seriously. I’m not just out there to raid the ocean or raid the mountains,” Poepoe emphasized. “This is the thing I learned. Whenever we go out and take something in nature, have a plan to replace what we take.”

The cultural significance of this practice was highlighted in a 2023 Hawaii Pacific University workshop when retired biologist Wally Ito recounted a conversation with the late Kauai activist Tommy Hashimoto. Hashimoto had described how community members once selectively harvested honu at Hanalei Bay, taking only what was needed to feed the community. He warned that if the ban continued much longer, this cultural knowledge would vanish completely.