Meet The Hawksbill Sea Turtle

STATUS: Critically Endangered
POPULATION: ~15,000

Hawksbill sea turtles are named after their narrow, pointed beak. Their other distinguishing factor is a beautifully, colorful shell. Hawksbill sea turtles are one of the smaller turtles, however, adult hawksbills can still reach 200 pounds (around 90 kilos). They live throughout the tropical oceans of the world and mature hawksbill sea turtles are primarily found near coral reefs. The sponges on coral reefs provide much of their food, although they do eat sea anemones and jellyfish too. The lifespan of hawksbill sea turtles in the wild is estimated to be around 30-50 years.

The hawksbill sea turtles are solitary nesters but one of the most fascinating things about their nesting habits is how the female turtles return to the exact beaches they themselves were born, when they are ready to lay their eggs. These are often referred to as “natal beaches” wherein the hawksbill sea turtles use earth's magnetic field as a guide back home.

Hawksbill sea turtles usually mate once every two to three years and the females lay 140 eggs on average. About 60 days later, the hatchlings arrive and use the bright open view of the night sky to the find their way to the water. This is no easy feat. Because of light-pollution in many coastal areas, the tiny turtles sometimes are mislead toward urban lights from cars and buildings, never making it to sea and drastically reducing their survival.

Hawksbill sea turtles are living representations of a group of reptiles that have existed on planet earth for the last 100 million years!

What’s the danger?

Hawksbill sea turtles are critically endangered as it’s estimated that there has been an 87% decline amongst mature females within the last 3 generations. It’s approximated that only 15,000 female hawksbills are left in the wild. Unfortunately, most of this decline is due to human activity. The hawksbill sea turtles lose parts of their nesting and feeding habitat due to urbanization and unsustainable tourism, and humans also pollute the areas in which they reside.

They have also become a victim of bycatch. Hawksbill sea turtles must come to the surface to breathe, which makes them easy targets for getting tangled in fishing nets or stuck on hooks. Some people simply steal their eggs to eat, but the biggest threat continues to be wildlife trade. Despite the hawksbills being protected by several legislative instruments, there is still a huge amount of illegal trade in their shells that sometimes get sold for the jewelry or ornament trades.

ENVIRONMENTAL RELATIONS

Hawksbill sea turtles present a fundamental link in their marine ecosystem. They help to maintain a healthy balance of the coral reefs and seagrass beds and they feed on sponges that otherwise would outrule the corals itself. If these turtles go extinct, many species that rely on healthy coral reefs and seagrass beds would start to decline and may eventually disappear as well.

Do you consider yourself an introvert? Join the Hawksbill. These turtles only meet up once every 2-3 years for mating then continue their journey alone for up to 50 years in the wild!

How can we help?

World Wildlife Fund is working with fisheries to use more turtle-friendly hooks which are less harmful, and they also advocate for the use of turtle excluder devices in fishing nets. WWF also runs a competition named SmartGear that focuses on fishing gear innovation which can prevent bycatch.

In addition, WWF is helping to save turtles that are caught while equipping local turtle conservationists with tools to work more efficiently. In the fight against illegal trade, WWF is working with local communities to help establish other sources of income, so they can reduce or remove their reliance on the illegal trading of turtle products.

EDGE of Existence fellow, Daniel Arauz is running a project in Costa Rica that is tagging the hawksbills, so they can be better tracked through satellite telemetry. These tags cause no harm to the animals, and they allow researchers to gather additional data so we can learn more about their migration patterns and their behavior to better tailor conservation efforts for save this species.

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