M45 Honuʻea Hatchlings by Hawaiʻi Artist Dietrich Varez

Green sea turtles are common around the island, but our coastal waters also harbor its more elusive and rare cousin—the Hawaiian hawksbill turtle. Called honuʻea or ʻea by Hawaiians, they feed almost exclusively on sponges. Males never come to shore and females only do so in order to nest. Of the few beaches they nest on statewide, three are protected along the remote coast in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park.