We are concerned residents of the North Shore of Oahu advocating for responsible tourism under the guidance of marine biologist and filmmaker Terry Lilley.
This website documents the realities of Laniakea Beach (a.k.a. Turtle Beach) including the harassment of turtles, a lack of management, erosion, and traffic.
Visitors are misled to believe that Laniakea is an official turtle viewing spot,
&
unintentionally overwhelm the important habitat of protected species.
The Hawaiian Green Sea Turtle is a threatened species and is fully protected under the U.S. Endangered Species Act.
“It is important to keep at least 50 feet away from any turtle on the beach or in the water so as not to change its behavior in any way. “
- Terry Lilley
Understanding Sea Turtle Behavior
My algae is flaring up.
Turtles climb up onto the beach to dry their shells and kill the algae and parasites that grow on them. If there are too many people on the beach, it may prevent the turtle from making it up onto dry sand.
I can run but I’d like to hide!
Turtles will naturally sleep out on the coral reefs. But when there’s a tiger shark in the area, turtles will climb up onto the beach to sleep. Ample space should be left for them to access the beach and rest peacefully away from predators.
Good vibes only, please.
Being reptiles, Sea Turtles hear through an audio sensory bone in their lower jaw. A resting sea turtle picks up the vibrations of people walking a great distance away. This may disrupt the resting and sleeping patterns that are important to their health.
Problems
at Laniakea
Harassment
Erosion
Mismanagement
& Misconceptions
Traffic
PLEAse give turtles
more space
Enforce the ESA
The number of uninformed visitors at Laniakea that are harassing the turtles daily has gotten out of hand. For the sake of our threatened and endangered animals, we are calling for the enforcement of the ESA at Laniakea with a distance of 50 feet.
Report violations >
If you see any harassment of turtles in a way that could alter their behavior, please report to the following numbers and emails. Photos of infractions can be attached in emails and would be very helpful.
We would greatly appreciate if you would also share your information with our marine biologist Terry Lilley.
NOAA Marine Wildlife Hotline
1-888-256-9840 Press 6 for potential harassment of sea turtles in Hawaii
NOAA Fisheries’ Enforcement Hotline
1-800-853-1964
Report harassment to NOAA
RespectWildlife@noaa.gov
NOAA law enforcement for the North Shore of Oahu
thomas.kearns@noaa.gov
Assistant head of NOAA for Hawaii
martina.sagapolu@noaa.gov
DOCARE Hotline (Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement | Department of Land and Natural Resources | State of Hawaii)
808-643-3567 (808-643-DLNR)
DLNR Tip App
download to report harassment
Marine Biologist Terry Lilley
underwater2web@gmail.com