Hawksbill Sea Turtle Endangered Since 1970
The Hawksbill Turtle is found in the tropical waters of the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. They prefer to inhabit the coastlines where there are shallow waters rich in their favorite foods and sandy nesting beaches close by. These magnificent creatures can live for up to 50 years and can weight up to 150 pounds. They are omnivores and are preyed on by sharks, crocodiles, octopuses and humans. People can find them swimming amongst coral reefs feeding on sponges, mollusks, algae, sea urchins, crustaceans, fish and jelly fish. They are known to migrate great distances in order to find new foraging and nesting sites where they can lay their eggs. The most harrowing time in their lives is once they first hatch and must make it from the onshore nest to the ocean. At this time they are at great risk of being eaten by crabs and flocks of birds.
Despite the natural
challenges these animals already face, humans have caused the greatest impact on their populations, pushing the species to be considered Critically Endangered by the IUCN Red List. In many countries these turtles are still caught for food and their beautiful shells and they also fall prey to by-catch in fishing nets (National Geographic). Japan has been significantly decreasing the population due to their illegal trade of the turtles shell. It is extremely sad that after millions of years this turtle species is dwindling due to human induced factors. It is predicted that the Hawksbill Sea Turtle could become extinct in the foreseeable future. It is estimated that only approximately 20,000 nesting females are alive (Sea Turtle Conservancy). Implementing effective conservation measures is extremely challenging due to the fact that these turtles migrate vast distances and therefore their range spans long distances. Some measures have been taken to protect the turtle such as changing fishing gear to prevent them from ending up as by-catch, designation of critical habitat areas, constant monitoring of population totals by NOAA and protection under many international treaties such as CITES (National Wildlife Federation). There is not one right answer as to what we can do to save these turtles however we do know that we need to continue to monitor and help them if we want to prevent them from going extinct in the near future. (Fish and Wildlife Service)
References
http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/reptiles/hawksbill-turtle/
https://conserveturtles.org/information-about-sea-turtles-hawksbill-sea-turtle/
https://www.fws.gov/northflorida/seaturtles/turtle%20factsheets/hawksbill-sea-turtle.htm
https://www.nwf.org/wildlife/wildlife-library/amphibians-reptiles-and-fish/sea-turtles/hawksbill-turtle.aspx
