WHAT IS BEING DONE
They Deserve A Preserve
With less and less coral reefs and clean, undisturbed beaches
for turtles to choose from, the Hawksbill population is
continuingto drop. It is crucial that we, as humans, act on
this by providing and protecting habitat space for these
critically endangered turtle to survive, the longer we wait,
the closer they come to being biologically extinct. The rate
at which these turtles are becoming extinct is 10,000 times
the background extinction rate. Many laws have already
been set in place to protect the turtles, but they are not
making the impact needed. It is time to set even more areas
of the ocean, specifically coral reefs, as protected habitats
for Hawksbill, as well as the plethora of other animals that
depend on them.
What's Being Done Around the World:
There are some global initiatives aimed at saving the turtle. Along the Florida coast, in 1991 the Archie Carr National Refuge was established in Florida. This area includes more than 20 miles of land for the sea turtles to nest and deposit their eggs in (Pilcher, Dr. Nicholas, 2002). In both Nicaragua and Costa Rica, there are efforts to help protect the sea turtles by offering a tourist attraction.
A National Park area has been designated and about 15,000 people go there annually to observe these sea turtles (Pilcher, Dr. Nicholas, 2002). There are many other tourist attractions like zoos around the world have sea turtles as part of their exhibits. Though this does not always provide the best quality of life for the turtles, it at least gets out the message of their endangerment and hopefully how to save them.
Other efforts involve keeping the adult sea turtles in captivity. This way they can mate and lay their eggs. Then those younglings are taken to natural wild environments of sea turtles and released into the water. It is also quite common for the eggs to be taken from the beach once they are laid, and kept until it is time for them to hatch - to prevent any animals raiding the nests and eating the eggs. This means that approximately 80% of hatchlings make it to the water (National Geographic, 2015). In the wild, it is only approximately .001% that end up making it, so this is a tremendous difference (Sea Turtle Conservation and Research, 2014).
Another attempt to save the turtle has been a method called turtle farming, or the raising of turtles in large quantities. The question of whether the "farming" of any wild species is controversial. Farming is often accompanied by tourism, even though it isn't quite ecotourism. However there have been some revolting cases of turtles being grown just to make into products such as bracelets and headbands. It is possible however, for tourism associated with farming to be educational. Educational talks about preservation and conservation of the Hawksbill could be presented on theses farms, therefore leaving a positive impact on the visitors of the farm. Overall however, it doesn't seem that this is the safest way for the turtle, or the environment that would be lacking it' coastal preserves still seem to be the best cours of action.
endangered (Hawksbill Sea Turtle, 2015). This does aid the Hawksbill, providing some much needed regulation on the constant trade of these innocent animals, but does not stop it.
Another huge piece of legislation is the ESA, or the Endangered Species Act. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association, “The Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA) was signed on December 28, 1973, and provides for the conservation of species that are endangered or threatened throughout all or a significant portion of their range, and the conservation of the ecosystems on which they depend”.
Both of these laws are imperative to the survival of the turtle, yet they are not regularly followed. It is very easy for people to smuggle animals through airports, and other forms of transportation, and sell on the black market. The problem is that the repercussions for illegal trading are just small fines, to smugglers making thousands off these animal products, the fine is incomparable. While the American government is fairly good at regulating these kinds of standards, there are still many instances of poaching. Altering EPA specialist and fighting for tighter regulation of illegal animal trade is a great way to ensure the safety of Hawksbill.
Recovery Plan:
Every endangered species has a recovery plan, or a document describing protocols for protecting endangered species populations, created by the U.S. government. The goal of the recovery plan for the Hawksbill is delist the species from the Endangered Species Act as endangered. The timeline for this goal is since it was created in 1973, until 2020, as the anticipated year of recovery (Recovery Plan for U.S. Pacific Populations of the Hawksbill Turtle,1998)
Recovery criteria: The U. S. populations of hawksbills can be considered for delisting if, over a period of 25 years, the following conditions are met (Recovery Plan for U.S. Pacific Populations of the Hawksbill Turtle,1998):
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The adult female population is increasing, as evidenced by a statistically significant trend in the annual number of nests on at least five index beaches, including Mona Island and BIRNM.
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Habitat for at least 50% of the nesting activity that occurs in the USVI and Puerto Rico is protected in perpetuity.
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Numbers of adults, subadults, and juveniles are increasing, as evidenced by a statistically significant trend on at least five key foraging areas within Puerto Rico, USVI, and Florida.
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All priority one tasks have been successfully implemented.
Actions needed: Five major actions are needed to achieve recovery (Recovery Plan for U.S. Pacific Populations of the Hawksbill Turtle,1998):
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Provide long-term protection to important nesting beaches.
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Ensure at least 75% hatching success rate on major nesting beaches.
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Determine distribution and seasonal movements of turtles in all life stages in the marine environment.
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Minimize threat from illegal exploitation.
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Ensure long-term protection of important foraging habitats.
For more detailed information on the Hawksbill recovery plan, click this link, which will give you the full pdf version:
Pacific: http://ecos.fws.gov/docs/recovery_plan/981201c.pdf
Atlantic , Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico : http://ecos.fws.gov/docs/recovery_plan/931110.pdf
Who’s Trying to Help:
Several organizations working to protect the Hawksbill turtleare the Sea Turtle Foundation, The Nature Conservancy, Turtle IslandRestoration Network, and the National Wildlife Federation.
The Nature Conservancy’s mission statement is to conserve the
lands and waters on which all life depends. They work on a lot of
preservation and are constantly trying to preserve more and more
coral reefs not only for Hawksbill but for animals everywhere. Here
is the link to learn more:
http://www.nature.org/?intc=nature.tnav
The Turtle Island Restoration Network, wants to “work to protect
endangered marine species, save critical ecosystems, improve consumer
choices, encourage government action and inspire corporate
responsibility”. They have several projects on the preservation of c
oastal habitats and the prevention of turtles getting caught in fishing
nets. This organization seems to be reliable and benefits the Hawksbill
highly! Here is the link to learn more.
The National Wildlife Federation has a goal to improve federal and state policies that will improve wildlife conservation on hundreds of millions of acres of public, tribal and private lands, including thousands of miles of streams, rivers, lakes and coastlines across America. The National Wildlife Federation works hard to educate, preserve, and protect wildlife; their actions have helped the Hawksbill greatly. Here is the link to learn more:
All of these nonprofits have a goal to preserve and educate the public. If you are interested in getting involved with or donating to any, click the links above or simply look them up online.
Laws Protecting the Hawksbill:
TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring network, estimate that hundreds of millions of dollars a made each year off of the illegal trade of the Hawksbill shell (Hawksbill Sea Turtle, 2011). Though these turtles are critically endangered, there are still laws and organizations fighting to give the Hawksbill a chance. One, is CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna) - aimed at preventing the international trade of animals, specifically ones who are critically
