A new online survey allows you to report when you see green sea turtles (honu) with white numbers and letters etched temporarily on their shells and contribute to a valuable source of data for sea turtles in Hawaii. This honu with shell etchings was spotted on Hawaii Island. PHOTO BY CASS PAYE.

HONOLULU — Have you ever wanted to participate in sea turtle research? National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries has launched a new online survey to report sightings of sea turtles with white numbers and letters etched temporarily on their shells.

Honu Count is a citizen science project that started in 2017. It’s a way for the public to engage in sea turtle research and conservation by reporting turtles they see with shell etchings around Hawaii.

Previously, sightings were reported through phone calls or e-mails. This new online system makes it easier to report sightings and helps researchers more accurately track honu locations.

The Honu Count survey can even be accessed through your smartphone, allowing anyone to report in real time.

A map is generated on the survey, allowing the user to place a pin of the sighting, giving researchers exact coordinates of the turtle’s location.

First sighted in 2021, MA165 can be seen basking on many beaches around Lahaina, for example.

MA100 has commonly been spotted around Kaanapali since 2021, and MA101 is frequently seen around Kihei.

Why is Honu Count important? Sea turtles have internal compasses that use the Earth’s geomagnetic signposts to help them navigate back to the beaches where they were hatched to reproduce.

Most mature honu that live around the main Hawaiian Islands travel northwest during the spring to reproduce at Lalo, or French Frigate Shoals. That’s an atoll in the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument.

This round-trip migration begins at their foraging habitats around the main Hawaiian Islands and extends more than 500 miles to Lalo.

This public science opportunity provides NOAA Fisheries with valuable data on locations where sea turtles eat and live. This allows scientists to track population abundance, monitor the recovery of rehabilitated turtles and understand migration destinations of nesting honu returning to marine habitats of the main Hawaiian Islands

Visit the Honu Count page at https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/pacific-islands/honu-count-help-us-find-numbered-sea-turtles-hawaii to learn tips for safe viewing and reporting.

NOAA Fisheries encourages the public in Hawaii to observe turtles from a responsible distance of at least ten feet, even when attempting to get a photo of shell etchings for reporting purposes.

If you spot an injured or a dead animal, call NOAA’s Marine Wildlife Hotline at (888) 256-9840.