Endangered Species of the Week:  Hawksbill Sea Turtles

Eretmochelys imbricata

 

Not particularly large compared to other sea turtles, hawksbills grow up to about 45 inches in shell length and 150 pounds in weight. While young, their carapace, or upper shell, is heart-shaped, and as they mature it elongates. Their strikingly colored carapace is serrated and has overlapping scutes, or thick bony plates.

The hawksbill turtle’s tapered head ends in a sharp point resembling a bird’s beak, hence its name. A further distinctive feature is a pair of claws adorning each flipper. Male hawksbills have longer claws, thicker tails, and somewhat brighter coloring than females.

Hawskbill Sea Turtles are Critically Endangered.

Habitat:

Hawksbill turtles are found throughout the tropical waters of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans. They avoid deep waters, preferring coastlines where the sponges they like to feed on are abundant, and sandy nesting sites are within reach. These highly migratory reptiles help maintain a healthy coral reef ecosystem.

Fun Facts:

• Sea turtles are the living representatives of a group of reptiles that have existed on Earth and traveled our seas for the last 100 million years.
• Hawksbills are omnivorous and will also eat mollusks, marine algae, crustaceans, sea urchins, fish, and jellyfish.
• Every two to five years, female hawksbills return to the beaches where they were born to nest, which normally takes place in shallow waters close to the shore.
• Adult Hawksbills can hold their breath for up to 3 hours, but typically surface every 10-15 minutes

Why they matter:

They are a fundamental link in marine ecosystems and help maintain the health of coral reefs and seagrass beds. As they remove prey such as sponges from the reef’s surface, they provide better access for reef fish to feed.  They also have cultural significance and tourism value.  For example, for local residents in the Coral Triangle, the flow of visitors who come to admire turtles is a vital source of income.

What is Threatening Them?

Like other sea turtles, hawksbills are threatened by the loss of nesting and feeding habitats, excessive egg collection, fishery-related mortality, pollution, and coastal development. However, they are most threatened by wildlife trade.

ILLEGAL WILDLIFE TRADE

The shell trade for tourists is a serious threat to Madagascar’s marine resources.

Despite their current protection under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and many national laws, there is still a disturbingly large amount of illegal trade in hawksbill shells and products. They are much sought after throughout the tropics for their beautiful brown and yellow carapace plates that are manufactured into tortoiseshell items for jewelry and ornaments. In recent decades, eastern Asia has provided an eager market for tortoiseshell.

FISHERIES BYCATCH

Hawksbills are particularly susceptible to entanglement in gillnets and accidental capture on fishing hooks. Sea turtles need to reach the surface to breathe, and therefore many drown once caught. Known as bycatch, this is a serious threat to hawksbill turtles. As fishing activity expands, this threat is more of a problem.

What is Being Done?

Hawksbill turtles are protected by international agreements like the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and the Convention on Migratory Species. This level of international cooperation is essential to the conservation of hawksbills given their wide geographic range.

Advocates are also working to protect the hawksbill turtle’s habitats by designating them marine sanctuaries or aquatic preserves, while researchers like Photo Ark EDGE Fellow Daniel Arauz are gathering data on hawksbill populations to help raise awareness among local communities and improve conservation strategies.

What does WWF do?

ELIMINATING BYCATCH:

WWF aims to reduce turtle bycatch by working with fisheries to switch to more turtle-friendly fishing hooks (“circle” hooks) and advocates for the use of special turtle excluder devices in nets. They run an international competition, known as Smart Gear, to attract creative new ways to solve bycatch problems and advance the best of those ideas. Winning devices have been designed to minimize the bycatch of turtles on tuna longlines and help turtles avoid gillnets.

PROTECTING SEA TURTLE HABITAT

WWF  works around the world to establish marine protected areas (MPA)  to ensure sea turtles have a safe place to nest, feed, and migrate freely.  They encourage governments to strengthen legislation and provide funding for sea turtle protection. WWF  also supports the monitoring and patrolling of turtle nests in many parts of the world to equip local turtle conservationists. This often leads to ecotourism opportunities and offers alternative livelihoods.

SATELLITE TRACKING

Satellite telemetry allows researchers to track sea turtles as they swim from place to place. These satellite tags do not harm the turtles in any way and are designed to eventually fall off. The data will tell researchers where important feeding areas are, help them understand migration patterns, and anticipate where turtles may come in contact with fisheries and their gear.

ADDRESSING WILDLIFE TRADE

WWF works with communities to reduce turtle harvesting and local trade in the Coral Triangle. In Malaysia, they help raise awareness about the threats hawksbills face and communicate the importance of protecting them. Exploitation of  turtles is often driven by a lack of economic choices so WWF works to develop alternative livelihoods so that local people are no longer dependent on turtle products for income. WWF also works to stop the illegal trade of hawksbill products around the world through TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring network. They also train and equip local rangers to protect turtles from poaching and patrol nesting beaches.

Sources:

https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/hawksbill-turtle

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/reptiles/h/hawksbill-sea-turtle/#close

https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/hawksbill-turtle

And that’s it for this week! byee