Malama na Honu
A Non-Profit, funded by NOAA and Hawaii Tourism Authority, was created in 2007 to succeed NOAA’s Show Turtles Aloha campaign (2005 - 2006).
Malama na Honu website
“In 2007, under the authority of the Endangered Species Act, NOAA Fisheries began providing grant funds to our non-profit organization to support public outreach activities that promote respectful behavior around the Honu.”
Malama na Honu promotes turtle viewing by showing the “top baskers” at Laniakea Beach. (Home page)
It sells adoption certificates of wild turtles that rest at Laniakea Beach. (Adoptions page)
“Your $30 symbolic adoption of a Malama na Honu green sea turtle (or $40 in the event you choose to adopt the entire `ohana) helps us continue our mission “To protect Hawaiian sea turtles through education, public awareness and conservation, all in the Spirit of Aloha.””
“Laniakea Ohana $40.00”
“Makana $30.00”
It sells merchandise using their name promoted at Laniakea Beach. (Featured Products page)
“Fleece Blanket $50.00”
“Women’s Slouchy Sweatshirt $42.00”
“You can be in the water with them.”
Watch as a Malama na Honu volunteer coordinator talks to a tourist at Laniakea Beach in this video posted by DLNR, starting at the 9:42 mark.
Watch video: Protecting Turtles & Tourists at Laniakea
“You can be in the water with them.”
“A turtle is over there. There is a couple. There is one right here. Yeah. Lot’s of turtles.”
“You just go out and you get to enjoy them.”
“They want to be around (humans).”
“Do not swim with, ride, pet, touch, or attempt to interact with marine mammals or sea turtles in the wild.”
“For turtles in the water, or nesting on beaches, remain at least 50 yards away.”
Malama na Honu sign inviting the turtle viewers at Laniakea to its website for information about individual turtles.
Google Maps recognizes Laniakea as a “Popular place for viewing sea turtles.” Traffic ends at Laniakea on both sides.
Laniakea Beach has become
a NOAA turtle showcase by design
Show Turtles Aloha Campaign 2005 - 2006
Predecessor of Malama na Honu
Laniakea, Oahu: Paradise for Turtle Watchers also known as Turtle Beach and Honulani
“Hawaiian green turtles crawl ashore almost daily to bask amid crowds of tourists and surfers, providing a unique turtle experience and unmatched photo opportunities.”
“A basking honu is perfectly happy to be the subject of photographs.”
Excerpts from a presentation by George Balazs, a NOAA scientist, at the bottom of the same webpage:
“Show Turtles Aloha Campaign Objective - To enhance public appreciation of the recovering Hawaiian green turtle population through respectful viewing that imparts the Spirit of Aloha to both turtles and people.”
“What Makes Laniakea Special? - Easy access from Kamehameha Hwy”
“The Laniakea Sea Turtle Appeal - A Showcase for sea turtle restoration unlike any other worldwide”
The “Show Turtles Aloha” Campaign
“It's very important to be aware that we are not enforcement agents.”
“I believe that the Laniakea experience is a great and wonderful "learning and teaching arena" for the right persons interest in volunteer work.”
“Laniakea is a roadside zoo. …they're not seeing turtles in the wild, they're seeing a million people and a few turtles sleeping on the beach.”
- George Balazs, Founder of Show Turtles Aloha, cited in 2019
Show Turtles Aloha founder’s opinion in 2019
Excerpts from the dissertation “THE NEXUS OF DISCOURSE AND PRACTICE IN SEA TURTLE TOURISM AND CONSERVATION AT LANIĀKEA BEACH, HAWAI‘I” by Gavin Lamb posted on georgebalazs.com
“Laniakea is a roadside zoo… a roadside attraction that has inklings of a roadside zoo. If people think they're going to see turtles in the wild, which is commonly bragged about, they're not seeing turtles in the wild they're seeing a million people and a few turtles sleeping on the beach.” - George Balazs (Page 36)
George expressed the feeling that Mālama na Honu had run its course and served its purpose and now should “go home and allow the community and the turtles to come to whatever equilibrium exists there.” (Page 68)