Head is narrow and has 2 pairs of prefrontal scales (scales in front of its eyes). The hawksbill’s beautiful, translucent shell is unfortunately one of its greatest liabilities. Carapace is elliptical in shape. Carapace is bony without ridges and has large, over-lapping scutes (scales) present and has 4 lateral scutes. 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. Hawksbills are particularly susceptible to entanglement in gillnets and accidental capture on fishing hooks. Scientists diving recently near the Solomon Islands made an illuminating discovery: The first biofluorescent reptile ever recorded. Conservation. Hawksbill turtle hooked on a longline. Jaw is not serrated.
Because several of these problems are not limited to hawksbills or to sea turtles, this essay addresses challenges that we face in conserving many slow-growing, long-lived marine species. Assigning a single conservation status category to a species with a global distribution and a large number of genetically distinct, but geographically overlapping, populations is difficult. Hawksbill turtles are protected by various international treaties and agreements as well as national laws, such as (NOAA Fisheries): CITES: Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES), states it is illegal to import or export turtle products, or to kill, capture, or harass hawksbill sea turtles. Hawksbill sea turtles are internationally listed as critically endangered, and the reptile has been federally listed as an endangered species since 1970. Description: The hawksbill is one of the smaller sea turtles. Six of the seven sea turtle species recognised around the world are found in Southeast Asian waters, making the region a hotspot for gentle giants like the hawksbill, olive ridley and leatherback turtle, the last of which can grow as large as 2.2m across and weigh 680kg. The mission of The Comprehensive Florida Hawksbill Research and Conservation Program (a.k.a The Florida Hawksbill Project) is to study and protect the region’s hawksbill sea turtles …