As Hawaii turtles rebound, Native Hawaiians seek harvest rights

"Hawaii's formerly endangered green sea turtle population has rebounded in recent decades, with the species now a common sight along the state's beaches. While the increased populations have benefited tourism, with visitors gathering on beaches to take photos of the animals, some Native Hawaiians are asking when they, too, will be allowed to benefit from the rising population by harvesting turtles for food."

""A lot of people, they think it's a bad thing, you know, especially, like, the outsiders that not from here," Native Hawaiian fisherman Miki Duvauchelle told SFGATE. "They come over here and you know, they just want to put all these laws, all these protections, and it's like, 'Hey, it's a source of food, just like a fish.'" Fifty-year-old Duvauchelle was born and raised on Molokai. The island has no large resorts, and its residents have a history of resisting development and overtourism."

"His late father-in-law, Bill Puleloa, was devoted to studying turtles and shared similar views about returning harvest rights to Hawaiians. "Make no mistake, the perpetuation of the species is of utmost importance to us Hawaiians," Puleloa told the Honolulu Advertiser in 1998. "Thus, come the time when the population of turtles is judged stable enough to tolerate a limited harvest, we ask simply to be allowed to resume our millenia-old relationship with this culture," Puleloa said."

Hawaii's green sea turtle population has rebounded in recent decades and is now commonly seen along state beaches. Increased turtle numbers have boosted tourism, with visitors gathering to photograph the animals. Some Native Hawaiians are seeking permission to resume limited traditional harvesting of turtles for food. Molokai residents rely heavily on subsistence hunting, fishing and gathering, and many feel conservation laws have restricted cultural and food practices. Local fishermen express that protections have prioritized outsiders' views over Native needs. Elder Hawaiian advocates emphasized that species perpetuation is paramount and asked that, once populations are stable, limited harvest be allowed to restore millennia-old cultural relationships.

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