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The grace and elegance of the green sea turtle is legendary among those lucky enough to see one. The green is the largest hard-shelled sea turtle. Found throughout the Hawaiian Archipelago, this gentle vegetarian feeds almost exclusively on algae. One interesting behaviour of the Hawaiian green turtle is its fondness for crawling ashore at isolated sites in order to bask. Basking is rare among marine turtles, and has been observed in only a few populations in the Pacific. Sadly, six of the seven species of sea turtle, including the green, are now listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act.

A principal threat to the leatherback and other sea turtles is longline fishing, a method by which boats lay out lines 40 or 50 miles long, carrying hundreds or thousands of baited hooks, which float in the water for hours. In addition to the swordfish and tuna being targeted, these hooks also catch marine mammals, albatross, and sharks, as well as sea turtles, which often either drown or swallow the hook and eventually die. Earthjustice's Hawai`i office has been working for years to save the sea turtles.

The beautiful turtle featured in our photo was first photographed by Ursula Keuper-Bennett, a teacher from Toronto, on a diving trip to Maui in 1991. Ursula and her husband Peter nicknamed her "Aikane," Hawaiian for "Friendly", and observed her on many subsequent trips. For more photos and information about sea turtles, visit Ursula & Peter's web site.