Green sea turtle dies after being hit by boat

A female green turtle that traveled more than 500 miles from the French Frigate Shoals to Oahu died Wednesday after being struck by a boat.

The turtle, which landed on the beach near the Hilton Hawaiian Village in Waikiki, had a deep gash in its shell and was taken by federal marine officials for treatment Wednesday afternoon.

The turtle was dead by the time it was seen by a veterinarian, said Wende Goo, spokeswoman for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Goo said federal officials determined that the green sea turtle, weighing about 150 to 200 pounds, suffered injuries from a boat strike but don’t know what kind of boat struck it or the circumstances of the collision.

Goo said as part of normal procedure, a necropsy will be performed on the animal.

She said a tag on the turtle identified it as nesting in 2007 and 2011 in the French Frigate Shoals about 560 miles northwest of Honolulu.

Goo reminded boaters that green sea turtles are federally protected and classified as a threatened species.

“Boaters should be careful when entering into areas where there are green sea turtles,” she said. “Lower your speed.”

The green sea turtle or Chelonia mydas, hunted to near extinction, has been under federal species protection since 1978, although there is a proposal to take it off the list of protected animals based on its growing numbers.

Federal officials said studies show the nesting population of Hawaii’s green sea turtle has been increasing at a 5.7 percent annual rate over the past three decades.