Sea Turtle Research Program (STRP), Marine Biology, SCUBA
SCUBA CLUB BOAT DIVE- 4/10/26 Laura Jim took 4 members of the HPA SCUBA Club on a boat dive with Kona Diving Company on Sunday (5/10/26) out of Kaloko-Honokohau Harbor. Just as they were getting to the first dive site of the day, the boat captain exclaimed, “Oh My… there is a whale shark here” …
Hawaiʻi Island Charity Walk – 2026 The Hawaiʻi Island Charity Walk is a massive, single-day fundraising event that brings the local community and visitor industry together to support island-based non-profits. Traditionally held each May at the Waikoloa Beach Resort, this family-friendly morning is filled with food, live entertainment, and exercise. Hyper-Local Impact: All funds raised on Hawaiʻi Island stay …
Puako honu health assessment 22 PBR (4/28/26) Laura Jim, Robin Scarth. Marc Rice and 13 HPA STRP students traveled to 22 Puako Beach Road to conduct a honu health assessment/tagging day. We arrived at the site at 0830 and set up our equipment before beginning capture work at 0900 h. We were able, during the course …
MARINE STUDIES -FEBRUARY IN REVIEW Aloha all, Sharing some summaries of our marine studies programʻs (supported by Robyn, Marc and myself) successes and exposure these past few weeks primarily in the area of sea turtle research. A few highlights below. Annual 4th Grade PresentationContinued our collaboration and support of Colbyʻs amazing place-based program with a presentation …
44TH ISTS, KONA, HAWAII The 44th International Sea Turtle Society Symposium is being held in Kona, Hawaii from March 2 to March 9, 2026. This symposium bring nearly 700 sea turtle scientists, volunteers, NGOs, and other groups and people interested in sea turtle ecology, biology and conservation. Laura Jim and Robyn Scarth promoted a Honu …
KAHO honu health assessment (2/24/26) Laura Jim, Robin Scarth. Marc Rice and 7 HPA students traveled to Kaloko-honokohau National Historical Park to conduct a honu health assessment/tagging. We were joined by special guests Akwasi McLaren, Ketty McLaren and Andy Agyekumhene, all from Ghana. Also joining us were Rosanne Shank and George Balazs. We were assisted …
HPA STRP Responds to a turtle with fishing line STRP Co-Director Laura Jim received a call from a concerned family vacationing at Puako reporting that there was a small honu that had a fishing hook and bobber tangled around its flippers. The first day they called the honu left the area before we could get …
Honu Health Assessment- 1/20/2026 Laura Jim, Robyn Scarth and Marc Rice were joined by 10 HPA STRP student research volunteers to conduct in water capture work, data gathering, tagging and recording during a honu health assessment at the Hilton Waikoloa Hotel Lagoon. During the day we were able to capture and process 14 honu. …
KEEP PUAKO BEAUTIFUL OCEAN STEWARDS Laura Jim, Tani Cordiero and 4 HPA student volunteers joined the “Keep Puako Beautiful” organization to help with a coastal cleanup at the Kawaihae Harbor area. The day was beautiful and calm and the community was able to retrieve roughly 75 pounds of trash from the Kawaihae harbor area!
RESULTS FOR 2025 Laura Jim writes: The West Hawaiʻi Fishing Line and Cigarette Butt Program—run by Hawaiʻi Preparatory Academy’s Marine Studies Program, Keep Puako Beautiful and Ala Kahakai National Historic Trail—launched in April 2022 with just two recycling bins. Today, the program maintains 13 fishing line recycling bins across West Hawaiʻi, including 11 in South …