By Jan TenBruggencate
Advertiser Columnist

Wildlife experts first became aware of the treasure of Kamehame Beach on the Big Island when fishermen reported seeing mongooses carrying eggs.

Anglers working the coastline spotted animals that had dug up hawksbill turtle eggs, and were hauling the eggs off into the brush to eat them.

They reported what they had seen, and biologists quickly realized they had a remarkable find.

Dozens of the endangered turtles make their way up the dark sand beach each season, laying clutches of 150 to as many as 250 eggs at a time.

Because only an estimated 1 percent of the eggs will eventually grow into mature, reproducing turtles, and because hawksbills are so rare, each clutch is critical.

Larry Katahira, natural resources manager at Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park, said there are only about 60 known hawksbill females that lay eggs in the Hawaiian Islands, with 52 of them on the Big Island, and 35 of those at Kamehame.

A few nestings occur on other Big Island beaches, and at Kihei on Maui and Halawa on Moloka'i.

Hawksbills are endangered across the tropical waters of the world. They have been hunted extensively, mainly for their thick shells, from which combs, jewelry and other products are made. Trade in hawksbill shell products is banned under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.

They are deepwater swimmers who feed primarily on sponges, and are comparatively small turtles next to the seaweed-eating green sea turtles. They reach between 100 and 200 pounds.

Katahira said this year may be a good year for nesting, because five had already been ashore to nest in the first two weeks in June — more than usual this early in the June to December nesting and hatching season.

Volunteers, with the help of a couple of paid technicians, keep watch over Kamehame Beach every night for the entire season. They watch for mongooses and wild pigs that dig up nests, as well as rats and other threats.

Most volunteers are Mainlanders who commit to stay eight weeks, working four days and getting two days off. They get a $10 a day stipend, and a place to stay at the national park on the nights they're off the beach. Katahira said he'd like to get more Hawai'i volunteers. Anyone interested can call him on the Big Island at 985-6088.

The Nature Conservancy of Hawai'i last week said it has agreed to buy the 24 acres around Kamehame Beach from C. Brewer's Ka'u Agri-business. The conservancy must raise the $85,000 for the purchase by the end of July.

Katahira said green sea turtles also haul up on the beach but don't lay eggs there. Hawaiian monk seals have been seen there, but not recently, he said.

Jan TenBruggencate is The Advertiser's Kaua'i bureau chief and its science and environment writer. Reach him at (808) 245-3074 or jant@honoluluadvertiser.com.