Olive Ridley Hatchlings Found on Hawaiʻi
By: Chloe Molou, UHH Seawords Liaison

Some very exciting news made headlines in Hawaiʻi during the second week of February, 2021. As reported by both the Hawaiʻi Tribune-Herald and Hawaiʻi News Now, a rare olive ridley turtle nest in Kaʻu was discovered by an Ocean View family on February 3rd. Six or seven stranded hatchlings were spotted by Jeremy, Jen, and Kian Van Arkel, trapped among the rocks and debris on the beach. They called the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo Marine Option Program Sea Turtle Response Team and provided photos of the hatchlings for the team’s coordinator, Jen Sims.

Sims did not really believe what she was seeing, but knew it was rare when she did not recognize the hatchlings. Hawksbill turtles normally nest on Hawaiʻi Island, so hatchlings are not an uncommon sight. However, it is certainly rare to see them this early in the year, as hawksbills only nest between May and November. Some green sea turtles have nested on Hawaiʻi Island, however, they too do not start nesting until May. As such, the discovery of any hatchlings was a surprise, especially once it was found that these were juvenile olive ridleys.

The Van Arkels were advised by former director of the Hawaiʻi Island Hawksbill Project, Lauren Kurpita, to assist by looking through the debris and locating any more hatchlings that were stranded on the beach. The family helped release around 20 hatchlings into the water, with more beginning to emerge, in this once-in-a-lifetime experience. Kurpita arrived at the beach three hours after events had unfolded, and was able to excavate the nest, uncovering three dozen hatchlings that had been trapped by rocks.

Olive ridley sea turtles are a threatened species under the United States Endangered Species Act, with one population nesting on Mexico’s Pacific coast listed as endangered. Their populations reached a low point in the 1980s after being affected by the egg-harvesting and commercial shrimp industries, whose nets drown entangled turtles. While olive ridley turtles are known to inhabit Hawaiian waters, those in the Pacific Ocean nest in Central America in what is known as an arribada – where thousands of female olive ridleys come ashore at the same time to nest; solitary nesting is much rarer. This is only the seventh olive ridley nest found in the Hawaiian Islands, and the third to be found on Hawaiʻi Island, with one being found in Hilo in the early 2000s.

Why this uncommon occurrence took place is not known; however, it is certainly exciting to see these hatchlings!