Protected Species Community Issues

Cultural Significance of Green Turtles in the Pacific Islands

Pacific Islanders have a strong cultural relationship with green sea turtles.

  • Turtles are an intrinsic part of the traditions and folklore of the region.
  • Turtles played important roles in religious ceremonies.
  • Community relationships and cultural integrity were perpetuated through the exchange of turtle meat and turtle artifacts.

In Hawaii, green sea turtles (known as honu) are featured in:

  • The fourth verse of the Kumulipo, the Hawaiian creation chant;
  • Petroglyphs, legends, myths and stories as helpers, demigods and heroes.

For example:

  • the hula honu is a dance to honor the turtle aumakua (family god);
  • the folklore of the goddess Kauila, the mystical mother of all honu, relates turtles to ancient Hawaiian culture; and
  • Provided meat and eggs for food, oil to treat skin ailments, and shell and bone for tools and weapons.

Traditional Management

Turtles were historically part of the diet of Pacific islanders. It is believed that traditional management provided a buffer on the number of turtles harvested based on kapu [rules] or ‘taboo’ system. For example:

  • Hunting was undertaken ceremoniously and feasts were communal events;
  • In some communities, only certain members (chiefs, priests, or men) were permitted to eat turtles; and
  • Turtles were harvested for specific circumstances, such as weddings, funerals, religious ceremony, fiestas, canoe building and navigational celebrations.

Current Cultural Issues

The legal harvest of green sea turtles in U.S. Pacific Islands ended in 1978 when they were listed as Threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Following a status review, sea turtle populations nesting in American Samoa, Guam, and CNMI were uplisted to Endangered in 2016.  

For over 40 years, the Council, along with its U.S. Pacific communities, have sought to resume the cultural and subsistence harvest of green sea turtles. The listing of green sea turtles under the ESA prohibited the take, whether for subsistence, traditional, or cultural purpose. Section 4(d) under the ESA provides for a mechanism to allow take for threatened species, which has been used to allow take for ESA-listed salmon. Take prohibitions under the ESA would also be removed when a species is delisted and management returned to the states and territories. However, these avenues for resuming green sea turtles harvest are not available due to the US obligations under the Inter-American Convention for the Protection and Conservation of Sea Turtles (IAC).

The U.S. is a signatory to the IAC, and parties must take action to prohibit the “intentional capture, retention or killing of, and domestic trade in, sea turtles, their eggs, parts or products”. The federal government indicated that, as a policy matter, they are unlikely to pursue an avenue under the IAC to open up the pathway for green sea turtles harvest. They pointed out that:

  • The consideration of ratification of the IAC Treaty relied on the ESA rules prohibiting take of the species covered by the Treaty.
  • Pursuing renegotiation of the IAC Treaty to provide for a cultural take exception would be inconsistent with U.S. policy and international measures that the federal government negotiated in meetings to ensure conservation progress is being made.
  • The exception for traditional economic subsistence under the IAC Treaty is a very high bar that the U.S. is unlikely to meet.
  • The Federal government said that excluding Hawaii and the U.S. Pacific Islands from the IAC or renegotiating the IAC are not viable paths forward as it would counter their position.

It has been nearly 50 years since the cultural and traditional take of green sea turtles was prohibited when the species was listed under the ESA in 1978 and 25 years since the U.S. endorsed and signed the IAC in 2001. Because of these restrictions, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Island communities are losing more than the ability to harvest turtles — they are losing cultural knowledge, traditions of sharing and practices of sustainable use passed down for generations. The Council continues to seek pathways that honor cultural heritage while ensuring conservation.

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