Public
Statement

by Terry Lilley

I am a career marine biologist currently living in Pupukea on the North Shore of Oahu. For over 40 years I have researched sea turtles and other marine life around the world. I am currently doing an educational series about Hawaiian marine life for schools and an ongoing special airing this summer on National Geographic Wild.

In 1972 the ESA was written by Craig Potter, my teacher, so that the habitat of rare and endangered species would be saved to give that species a chance to recover. Laniakea is an important habitat of the threatened Green Sea Turtle, endangered Hawksbill Turtle and endangered Monk Seal. According to the wording in the ESA, “any act that disrupts normal behavioral patterns including feeding, breeding, or sheltering” of a threatened or endangered species is a violation of the law.

On any given day at Laniakea, over 500 people crowd onto the small beach to see the turtles.

A wall of people in the water and on the beach block the turtles from crawling up to rest. The few turtles that make it up onto the sand cannot get needed rest and time to dry out their shells as they are quickly approached by people jockeying like paparazzi to take photos. The footsteps and noise of that many vacationers on this small stretch of beach causes a harmful vibration in the turtles audio sensory bone in their lower jaw that disturbs their ability to rest and sleep.

People are touching the turtles, riding on their backs, trying to feed them and then chasing them as they try to access the beach.

Upon re-entering the water, they are once again surrounded and blocked by snorkelers as they attempt to escape from what should be their "rest" area. These are direct violations of the law and they happen daily. 

The sea turtles need this important stretch of beach as they have to dry out their shells and sunbask in order to kill algae and parasites that grow on their skin, as well as to rest away from predators. They have chosen Laniakea as their primary beach for this needed behavior to stay healthy.

According to the ESA and numerous high court decisions, it is also illegal for a company or government agency to promote a violation of the ESA.

Tour companies, including the ones that cater to foreign visitors such as the Japanese, are actively promoting this interactive harassment of the sea turtles at Laniakea. A non-profit funded by NOAA and HTA (on this beach for over 10 years) can be seen taking pictures for the tourists next to the turtles and handing out marketing materials which promotes more tourists to come down to this beach and harass the resting turtles. Nearby vacation rentals advertise the turtles as their amenity.

The public on the beach and in the water, plus the total lack of law enforcement by our federal government at Laniakea Beach, aka Turtle Beach, on the North Shore is a violation of the Harassment and Harm Clause in Section 9 of the Endangered Species Act.

These criminal ESA violations call for law enforcement to be posted full time at Laniakea to keep people at least 50 feet away from the turtles.

Terry Lilley
Marine Biologist
Pupukea Hawaii
http://underwater2web.com