Dated April 16, 1997.
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| WHEREAS, Hawaii’s waters are home to the green sea turtle, listed by the state and federal government as threatened and the hawksbill sea turtles, listed by the state and federal government as endangered; and |
| WHEREAS, despite being listed as threatened and endangered, and thereby being protected by law, Hawaii’s sea turtles continue to face a host of threats to their survival; and | |
| WHEREAS, the green sea turtle, or ‘honu’, is currently being afflicted by a mysterious and fatal disease of unknown cause called fibropapilloma, which is at epidemic levels in several areas of Hawaii; and | |
| WHEREAS, the extent of seriousness of fibropapilloma have been amply demonstrated by wildlife biologists, and their research efforts have been documented in written reports and papers as well as in the television documentary, “Fall of the Ancients”: Hawaii’s Green Sea Turtles in Crisis”, which was produced by two Hawaii-based conservation organizations --The Honu Project and Earthtrust; and | |
| WHEREAS, the National Marine Fisheries Service has taken the authority and lead by establishing a Sea Turtle Recovery Plan and has been working with the Department of Land and Natural Resources in tagging, releasing, and recovering green sea turtles, and assisting in the disposal of 'sick' or dead turtles; and | |
| WHEREAS, although some research into the cause of fibropapilloma has been conducted, much more research must be performed to determine the cause and cure of this disease, in order to protect the green sea turtle, both as an important part of Hawaii’s heritage and as on of the Earth’s endangered species; now, therefore, |
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| BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Nineteenth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 1997, that the Legislature hereby resolves that fibropapilloma is in fact a serious threat to Hawaii’s green sea turtle, a species protected by both state and federal statutes; and |
| BE IT RESOLVED that the Department of Land and Natural Resources report to the Legislature prior to the 1998 Regular Session on the progress of the Sea Turtle Recovery Plan and research into the preservation of Hawaii’s green sea turtles; and | |
| BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the National Marine Fisheries Service, the Board of Land and Natural Resources, the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, Sea Life Park, and the Waikiki Aquarium. | |
| Duly adopted by the State of Hawaii on April 10, 1997. Dated April 16, 1997. | |
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Turtle Happenings
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