PRCF conservation initiatives with Hawkbill Sea-turtles focus on community-led protection of sea-turtles and their nesting at Paloh Beach in West Kalimantan, Indonesia and at the Akassa coastline in southeastern Nigeria. In addition to the illegal trade of their shells, Hawksbill Sea-turtles are threatened by widespread egg collection, hunting, habitat destruction, entanglement in fishing nets, and ocean pollution.
In only three generations, the population of these turtles has declined more than 80%, a trend that is continuing. This illegal trade is one of the major threats to the survival of the species, which has experienced rapid population decline. Their beautiful, colorful shells are highly sought after, despite the international laws against trading Hawksbill products. They can live up to 50 years in the wild.Hawksbill Sea-turtles (E retmochelys imbricata) are unique sea-turtles with a pointed beak much like a bird. As a result, only a very small fraction of the young will live to adulthood. The young have to survive at the surface of the water by the coastline. It will take about 2 months for the hatchlings to emerge and it take them several days to dig their way out and then go to the water. The sand keeps them moist and helps to protect them from various predators on the beach. She will take the time to cover them back up. The eggs will be placed in clutches with anywhere from 100 to 140 eggs at a time.
This process usually occurs 3 times each mating season, about 15 days apart. The females often face the challenge of rocks and such to be able to get to shore to deposit their eggs. Even though the Hawksbill Sea Turtle is slow moving, they are very good at climbing. When it is time for the eggs to be deposited, the female will make her way to the beach. Some studies indicate that they will mate with the same male each time, but there isn’t enough information to verify such theories at this time. The females are the aggressors and they will pick the male they wish to mate with. Mating will occur in the water close to the beach that is very shallow. The females will only make every 2 or 3 years. This is significantly younger than most of the species out there. This species of sea turtle is able to mate when they are from 3 to 10 years of age. They are believed to travel the least amount of distance though for mating and for their nesting grounds. There isn’t much to share about the known behaviors of these sea turtles as they haven’t been observed enough. The Eretmochelys imbricata are found in the coasts of Africa, South America, Australia, Red Sea, Japanese Archipelago and New Zealand to name a few. You will be able to find these sea turtles living in regions where there is plenty of coral reef. Rarely are they found more than 65 feet below the surface of the water. They tend to stay closer to the surface than other species of sea turtles too. They are going to be found mostly in shallow, rocky areas. This includes New Jersey and Massachusetts. However, they can be found in the United States living in some of the cooler areas. They are found both in the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean. The Hawksbill Sea Turtle prefers to live in the warmer, tropical regions. It is believed this helps with them blending into their surroundings as a type of camouflage. They also feature areas of lighter and darker coloring on their bodies. They can be brown or black depending on the temperature of the water. The Hawksbill Sea Turtle have a pair of claws on each flipper. Along the front part of the body you will see two scales.
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