This is a long life considering how many offspring they can produce throughout their lives. Although it takes longer than twenty-seven years to reach full maturity, the Honu still breed every two to four years. Each mating season a mature female can fill up to nine nests with around 100-200 eggs in each nest; of course only a minute percentage will reach maturity (Hersh, Kendalyn). After the eggs hatch and the great scramble for life is through, the survivors head out to the open ocean and prepare for their return to coastal waters till they reach maturity. Once the age of maturity is reached, the Honu make an outstanding 800-mile journey up to the Northwestern French Frigate Shoals of the Hawaiian archipelago to mate (E Mälama i Na Honu). The cycle begins again once the mother Honu breaches upon the shore for a few hours and constructs a nest for her young. Also very interesting, the gender of the offspring is determined by the temperature within the nests. Colder temperatures produce more males while warmer temperatures tend to produce more females (Partymiller,