Send email (Peter Bennett) (Ursula Keuper-Bennett)įor more explanation about why we created Turtle Trax, you can read our oral presentation at the 17th Anual Sea Turtle Symposium. If you find yourself confused, lost, or if you simply have suggestions about how we can improve Turtle Trax, please let us know. While we've made every effort to keep Turtle Trax simple and easy to use, we're still learning. Trying to accomplish these goals in the context of a home page is a daunting task. To tell the story of one particular group of Hawaiian green sea turtles, the Honokowai group of Maui.To highlight a particularly gruesome threat to the green sea turtle, the fibropapilloma tumor.To make people aware of the reasons why all species of marine turtles are either threatened or endangered.To provide a Web site that gave people a chance to become familiar with the wonder and beauty of the marine turtle.Turtle Trax was conceived with these purposes in mind: The rest of this page is for the curious. We hope that you'll read our reasons for providing Turtle Trax. Bycatch of hawksbill turtles (accidental capture by commercial and sport fishermen) is being reduced by fishing gear modifications (such as the use of TEDs, or turtle exclusion devices), changes to fishing practices, and closures of certain areas to fishing during nesting and hatching seasons.This page contains a lot of information about Turtle Trax that can help you enjoy your visit here more, as well as satisfy your curiosity about the pages, and why and how we made them. Hawksbill turtles are protected by various international treaties and agreements, as well as national laws. Any distraction from their dash to the water is an opportunity for predators to pick up an easy meal. Beachfront lighting causes hatchlings to mistake the artificial light for their true destination-the moonlit sea. Their nesting habitat is threatened by degradation from coastal development and beach armoring. As coral reef habitats continue to decline, the hawksbill’s primary source of food is reduced, putting the sea turtles at greater and greater risk. Marine pollution and debris, watercraft strikes, and incidental take from commercial fishing operations also contribute to human-related deaths. In addition hawksbills are harvested for their meat. The shell is used to make jewelry, hair decorations, and other ornaments, and even though international trade of the hawksbill is prohibited, it continues in much of the world. The hawksbill’s beautiful, translucent shell is unfortunately one of its greatest liabilities. Hawksbill sea turtles are internationally listed as critically endangered, and the reptile has been federally listed as an endangered species since 1970. ![]() The normal lifespan of hawksbill turtles is thought to be about 30 to 50 years. ![]() ![]() As a result, actual age at sexual maturity is not known. However, the time required to reach 14 inches is unknown and growth rates vary geographically. They are believed to begin breeding about 25 to 35 years later. Several Yucatán beaches account for 25 to 30 percent of all hawksbill nesting in the Caribbean.īy the time they reach 14 inches (35 centimeters) in length, hawksbills tend to move onto reef habitat. The exceptions are the Gulf and Caribbean coasts of the Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico, where hawksbills nest on long expanses of beach in densities of 20 to 30 nests a kilometer. In contrast to all other sea turtle species, hawksbills usually nest in low densities on scattered small beaches. Hatchlings use the bright, open view of the night sky over the water to find their way to the sea. After the incubation period, two-inch (five-centimeter) hatchlings emerge as a group. Caribbean, a clutch size is about 140 eggs. Hawksbills nest at night, laying three to six clutches a season at two week intervals. The nesting season in most locations occurs sometime between April and November. ![]() Every two to three years, females return to nest on the very same beaches where they themselves hatched, referred to as natal beaches. Like other sea turtles, hawksbill turtles are solitary for most of their lives they meet only to mate.
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