Captain Scott and Baby Honu
Shaka Kayaks Volunteer Work
Here at Shaka Kayaks we truly believe in protecting our environment and in particular caring for the endangered species of the North Shore. This is why we volunteer over 20 hours a week working with several government agencies such as NOAA, FWS and the HMSRTO. Summertime is the time for babies on the North Shore and this year we are caring for a lot of them.
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NOAA - National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration - Every day our guides keep track of the green
sea turtle population inside of Kawela Bay.
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FWS - U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Shaka Kayak's owner, Captain Scott, volunteers every week during green sea turtle nesting season for the James Campbell National Wildlife Refuge. We just recently released 58 baby honu into the wild and after all the hard work volunteering it has paid off with us being able to assist in this miracle of life. Hopefully, someday soon, some of these turtles you will be able to see on our tour. |
Kawela Bay is where the very first green sea turtle study was done back in the
early 80's by Dr. George Balazs who is the foremost authority on green sea
turtles in the world. Your naturalist guide monitors the green sea
turtles for their size, sex, location and behavior along with the oceanic and
atmospheric conditions. This data is then sent back to Dr. Balazs team
to be analyzed. You can help us out on the tour and be part of this
research effort by pointing out any turtles you see that the guides might have
missed. Check out our
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HMSRTO - Hawaiian Monk Seal Response
Team Oahu - Captain Scott also volunteers for
the monk seal response team. On the morning of June 29th, 2010, R5AY
"Honey Girl" gave birth to her second pup at Turtle Bay. As volunteers
we made sure that this pup was protected from human interaction for the 49 day
cycle of weaning. This included putting up fencing, signs and a 12 hour
daily monitoring program. "Au Maile" is now on her own and we expect her
to make visits to Kawela Bay. If you do happen to spot a monk seal on
the tour, please let your guides know immediately. |
***Breaking News*** Honey Girl just gave birth to
her third pup at Turtle Bay on July 29th, 2011 at 3pm at the exact same
location! Captain Scott was the first HMSRTO responder on the scene just
minutes after the birth to protect them. The new pup was named Kukui and
is doing great!
