Alex Catlett’s Blog

Hawkbill Sea Turtles (Chelonia Mydas)

The Hawkbill Sea Turtle is a critically endangered sea turtle that is found primarily in the Atlantic and Indo-Pacific Oceans, although it is has worldwide distribution. The critically endangered groups of this species rest around the Coasts of southern Florida, Northern parts of South America, Eastern parts of Mexico, and the coasts of the Caribbean’s. They can even be occasionally spotted off the coasts of Texas.

Description: The Hawkbill Sea Turtle is a small to medium sized sea turtle, who gets its name from its beak-like nose. They typically reach about 3 feet in length and can way up to 300 pounds. Its shell is also quite notable to the species, with distinct amber and green patterns on its back. They live is tropical and costal climates, feeding mainly off coral reefs and its inhabitants. However, their diet is composed mainly of sponges.

    

Although these turtles lay hundreds of eggs per year, it takes up to 20 years for one turtle to mature to mature, causing their population to grow very slowly.

Population Decline:

The Hawksbill Sea Turtle had flourishing population in the mid 1980-90’s but within just 10 years, the species became critically endangered and almost was.

When the species began to steadily decline by the late 1980’s, the species went through many conversations to decide if they were actually endangered or not. This endangered status went through several reassessments in 1986, 1988, 1990, and 1994 before it was finally upgraded to a critically endangered status in 1996.

                 

Why Are These Turtles So Endangered?

These turtles are critically endangered because of Humans. Shocking. Not only has an increase in beach front property threatened their nesting sites, but their shell and meat are delicacies in many Asian cultures.                       

Many turtles use beaches much like the one in the picture above to nest their young. With more and more beaches being taken up by real-estate, the successful birth rate of the turtles has severely declined.

The main threat to the Hawksbill Sea Turtle is the overexploitation by humans for their shell and meat. Much like elephant ivory, sea turtle shells are sold to places like Japan and China. These countries use the shells for jewelry, decorations, and sculptures. In 1994, Japan stopped the import of turtle shells from other countries. However, countries like the Dominican Republic and Colombia still had readily available turtle shells in 2006. These sea turtles are also killed through accidents such as oil spills and by catch in fishing trolls.

RECOVERY PLAN

Thankfully, there is a lot being done to help the hawksbill sea turtle reach its former population. In 1994, Japan stopped importing turtle shells from other countries. However, Japan outright banned all imports, exports, and fishing by 2001. The second part of the plan directly affects the critical habitats that lie near Southern Florida. The initiatives taken to help the turtle are small, yet very effective. One step that has been taken is to eradicate or move all invasive species that harm the sea turtle beyond natural repair. The primary predator, the mongoose, eats the eggs from the nest that the turtles lay. Pushing out the mongoose to a more suitable area has helped keep the turtle’s birth rate normal. The decrease in pollution, whether it be trash, light pollution, or noise pollution, helps the turtle’s population grow at the proper rate. Trash clean-up programs have been started to keep the beaches clean for the sea turtles. Also, laws prohibiting plastic bag use in some cities has decreased the amount of accidental deaths. The final major step that has been taken was to create safe habitats for the turtles that cannot be bought for land development. Keeping safe places for turtles to breed and live has made a tremendous impact on their population.

What can you do help the Hawksbill Sea Turtle?

There is surprisingly a lot that humans can do to help the Hawksbill Sea Turtle. One small act you can do that can make a tremendous impact is to pick up trash you see on the beach. These turtles already have it hard enough, and letting trash go into the ocean is one more thing they must avoid. Also, reducing the amount of plastic you use can stop so much of it from ending up in our ocean. Most importantly of all, if you happen to stumble across a sea turtle nest, avoid it. They are very delicate and human tampering can be deadly. Lastly, you can always contact Environmental and Wildlife protection agencies to see what you can do to help these animals. A great place to contact would be Ocean Conservancy. Every small act counts! Do what you can to save the Hawksbill Sea Turtle https://donate.oceanconservancy.org/page/8891/donate/1?ea.tracking.id=17WAXAFXXX&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Fundraising%20-%

Resources and Pictures:

http://27ml3ckbz243349t7nkxkpyo.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/hawksbill_cover.jpg

https://www.fws.gov/verobeach/MSRPPDFs/HawksbillSeaTurtle.pdf\

https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=rUPj1LwO&id=E110A2DF131F149906FC1AA58D378490A7594CC7&thid=OIP.rUPj1LwO-S_4H1i_yzySFwEXDf&q=hawksbill+sea+turtle&simid=607987033927716372&selectedIndex=100&ajaxhist=0

https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=434HZZWF&id=7D2AE8F25A22F436545AC0B2E5B39B3D91D06A86&thid=OIP.434HZZWFVsB65_ARJz3HUQEfDZ&q=sponge+bob+scared&simid=608046227135662175&selectedIndex=2&ajaxhist=0

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawksbill_sea_turtle

https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=ssnjXIf%2f&id=120EE6E67EE8CFFE7B7D80E554BFA81716C349C2&thid=OIP.ssnjXIf_vhluB1GGd1QxHQEsD3&q=baby+hawksbill+sea+turtle&simid=608035154703420385&selectedIndex=4&ajaxhist=0

https://www.fws.gov/verobeach/MSRPPDFs/HawksbillSeaTurtle.pdf

https://www.fws.gov/northflorida/SeaTurtles/Turtle%20Factsheets/hawksbill-sea-turtle.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawksbill_sea_turtle#Exploitation_by_humans

https://donate.oceanconservancy.org/page/8891/donate/1?ea.tracking.id=17WAXAFXXX&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Fundraising%20-%20Ocean%20%26%20Brand&utm_term=%2Bocean%20%2Bconservation&utm_content=Brand%20-%20Broad%20Match