Hawai‘i CC Marine Option Program Marks First Year with Vital Sea Turtle Research

HILO, Hawai‘i — Hawai‘i Community College is celebrating a successful first year of its Marine Option Program (MOP), where students gained extraordinary hands-on experience through real-world research, primarily with endangered sea turtle health and population studies on Hawai‘i Island’s shores.

“So far in our first year, we have helped to count 80 green sea turtles on the East Side of Hawai‘i and we have perpetuated the 40-year data set at Punalu‘u Black Sand Beach,” explained MOP program coordinator Jen Sims.

The highlight of the program’s first year has been the Hilo Sea Turtle Health and Population Assessment Program. Through a special research permit in partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), students have participated directly in endangered green sea turtle research at Punaluʻu Black Sand Beach on Hawai‘i Island’s South shore and Haʻena beach in East Hawai‘i. This work supports critical population and health assessments required under the Endangered Species Act.

Students, under faculty supervision, safely hand-capture green sea turtles, conduct health evaluations, measure and weigh them, and place passive integrated transponders (PIT) tags for future identification. This unique opportunity sets Hawai‘i CC’s Marine Option Program apart. No other community college in the state incorporates endangered species research so directly into its undergraduate curriculum.

“I took a zoology class at HCC and in my lab portion we got to go to Punalu‘u. We did turtle tagging, which was very inspiring to me because since I was a child I’ve wanted to do marine science,” said Hawai‘i CC alumni and MOP student Eliea Mitchell-Butler. “And to be able to do it and get involved with the local community was very touching because this database at Punalu‘u is the largest and longest-going database worldwide on green sea turtles.”

Beyond the turtle research, MOP offers students early exposure to marine science through internships, personal research projects, volunteer experiences, and field trips. Students from all majors can tailor MOP to their interests, whether focused on traditional marine biology or areas rooted in Hawaiian culture.

“I never thought I would be part of real conservation science this soon in my undergraduate education,” said Hawai‘i CC recent MOP graduate Christian Reynolds. “I joined MOP at Hawai‘i Community College because it offered me the same opportunities that I would have otherwise had at a four year university but at a much lower price. And in doing so, I was able to get to the meat of why I wanted to be here right away, which was to conduct my own personal project.”

As MOP grows at Hawai‘i CC, it continues to build partnerships with community organizations and offers students a direct pathway to advanced marine science programs, preparing a new generation of local marine scientists and ocean stewards.

“Even though we’re the youngest program in the entire system, Hawai‘i Community College’s Marine Option Program is one of the most unique in that we offer research in sea turtles,” said Sims. “We also strive to offer marine science opportunities with our local communities to make sure that our citizens are stewards in ocean science. Our goal is to connect formal education with local knowledge and empower those who feel connected to the ‘aina with the best opportunity to
be the decision-makers and caretakers.”

For more information about the Marine Option Program at Hawai‘i Community College, email Jen Sims at jlsims@hawaii.edu or visit hawaii.hawaii.edu/liberal-arts/asc-mop.