• Home
• Sustainable Fisheries
  • About Sustainable Fisheries
  • Fishery Management
  • Proposed and Final Rules
  • Compliance Guides and
    Regulation Summaries
  • Annual Catch Limits
  • Sea Turtle Interactions
  • Seabird Interactions
  • Seabird Guide
  • Recreational Fisheries
  • Fishing Permits
  • Protected Species Workshop
  • Registration and Schedule
  • Resource Materials
  • Staff Listing
  • Resources/Related Links
• International Fisheries
  • About International Fisheries
  • Western & Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC)
  • South Pacific Tuna Treaty (SPTT)
  • South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organization (SPRFMO)
  • High Seas Fisheries in the North Pacific Ocean
  • Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC)
  • Proposed and Final Rules
  • Species of Interest
  • Boundaries Map
  • Fisheries Map
  • Documents and Data
  • Calendar
  • Contact Us
  • Links
• Protected Resources
  • About Protected Resources
  • Hawaiian Monk Seals
  • Whales and Dolphins
  • Sea Turtles
  • Species of Concern
  • Corals
  • Laws/Policies/Guidelines
  • Endangered Species Act (ESA)
  • Marine Mammal Response and Rescue
  • Protected Resources Outreach and Education
  • Volunteer Opportunities
  • Staff Listing
  • Divisional Organizational Chart
• Habitat Conservation
  • About Habitat Conservation
  • Current Activities
  • Coral Reef Habitats
  • Mapping
  • Additional Resources
  • Habitat Restoration
  • Essential Fish Habitat
  • Staff Listing
• Observer Program
  • About the Observer Program
  • Observer Requirements, Training, Duties & Contractor
  • Observer Database (LODS)
  • Observer Manual and Data Collection Forms
  • Staff Listing
  • Photos
  • Quarterly & Annual Reports
  • Doing Business With The Observer Program
  • Observers on Transit Information
• Operations, Management, and Information
  • About Operations, Management, and Information
  • Staff Listing
  • PIRO Employment
  • Central Contractor Registration (CCR)
• Outreach and Education
  • About Outreach and Education
  • Outreach Brochures and Materials
  • Protected Resources Outreach and Education
  • Volunteer Opportunities
• Grants
  • About the Federal Programs Office
  • Training Resources
  • Funding Opportunities
  • Projects/Maps
  • Other Documents
  • Pacific Region Grants Cooperative
  • PRGC Contacts
• Marine National Monument Program
  • About the Marine National Monument Program
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument
  • Marianas Trench Marine National Monument
  • Rose Atoll Marine National Monument
  • The Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument
  • Staff Listing
• Press Releases and Media
• Public Documents
• Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center
• Office of Law Enforcement
• FOIA (Freedom of Information Act)
•  

Protected Resources

Protected Resources Volunteer Opportunities

Everyone in a community shares in the responsibility of managing and protecting our resources for future generations. The Protected Resources Division encourages public involvement by offering the following volunteer opportunities.

Laniakea Beach, located a few miles north of Haleiwa on Oahu's North Shore, is well known for its pristine sandy cove and premium surf break. Within the past ten years, Hawaiian green sea turtles (honu) have appeared close to shore, actively feeding on the abundant green algae that grows there. In 1999, the honu began hauling out onto the beach in the sandy cove to bask ashore. Word traveled quickly and soon tour buses, local residents and island visitors were stopping at Laniakea to see the turtles sleeping on the beach and calmly swimming and feeding inches from the shoreline.

Unfortunately, some of the beachgoers were not respectful to the honu, choosing instead to sit, ride and even feed the turtles. During the summer of 2005, the increasing interaction between the honu and humans prompted George Balazs, leader of the Marine Turtle Research Program for the NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, to create a campaign called Show Turtles Aloha. Local community members stepped up to help and began volunteering their time to educate and inform residents and visitors about respectful turtle viewing at Laniakea. Previously a NOAA volunteer program, this group is now an independent non-profit called the "Malama Na Honu Foundation."

To learn more about the Malama Na Honu Foundation, please visit: http://malamanahonu.org

If you are interested in volunteering as a Honu Guardian, please send an email to: info@malamanahonu.org

Currently a team of over 50 volunteers routinely assist NOAA's Pacific Island Regional Office (PIRO) and Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC) in monk seal response issues. Volunteers assist with the following:

• Responding to seals to haul out to rest and providing a "seal protection zone" to protect them from disturbance.
• Providing public passersby with information about the Hawaiian monk seal and its endangered status.
• Monitoring monk seal pupping events.
• Reporting animals in distress (due to hooking, entanglement or otherwise) and standing by until help arrives.

If you are interested in volunteering with the Hawaiian Monk Seal Response Team Oahu (HMSRTO) or would like more information about the program, please visit their website: http://HMSRTO.org

The Kauai Monk Seal Conservation Hui is a volunteer based project with assistance from state, federal and private organizations. Volunteers are trained to assist with the following:

• Reporting, monitoring and protection of Kauai's Hawaiian monk seals.
• Kauai monk seal pupping events.
• Providing outreach and education to stakeholders, visitors and the general public.

If you are interested in volunteering with the Hui or would like more information, please contact:
NOAA
3060 Eiwa St., Room 306
Lihue, HI 96766
(80)8-651-7668

kauaiseals@gmail.com

Other Volunteer Opportunities

Since 1989, volunteers have assisted biologists at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park in monitoring, protecting, and collecting baseline data on nesting hawksbill turtles. The endangered hawksbill turtle is very rare in Hawaii and throughout the world. Volunteers are needed on the Island of Hawaii to monitor sea turtle nests, assist with research activities on adult sea turtles, record field data, as well as provide outreach to the local community.

• 2006 Season Highlights (Feb 2007, pdf 65kB)
• Recruitment Flier (Mar 2006, pdf 1MB)

If you are interested in volunteering with the Hawksbill Turtle Project or would like more information, please contact:
Will Seitz
Island of Hawaii Hawksbill Turtle Recovery Project Coordinator
Pacific Cooperative Studies Unit - Hawksbill Turtle Project
Resources Management Division
P.O. Box 52
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, HI 96718
808-985-6090
fax:808-985-6029