Hawksbill Turtle (Eretmochelys Imbricate) Essay

The Hawksbill turtle, (Eretmochelys imbricate) named by Fitzinger in 1843 (generic name) and Linnaeus in 1766 (species name) is a sea turtle species that are currently endangered and faces extinction from human fishing practices. (Witzell, 1983, p. 137). The hawksbill appearance resembles that of other sea turtles with the flat body, a carapace for protection and limbs that look like flippers for swimming. It is however easy to distinguish a hawksbill turtle from other sea turtle species since they possess sharp, slightly curved beaks with a projected tomium. Their shells have a saw-like appearance on the margins and also change color with respect to the temperature variations in the sea water. These turtles spend part of their lives in the ocean and even in coral reefs and shallow lagoons with most of the time spent in the later. A vast majority of the turtle's population can is found in tropical beaches of the Pacific, Atlantic and the Indian oceans as the species is mostly accustomed to the warm tropical waters that these oceans provide.

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The turtle belongs to the kingdom Animalia phylum Chordata which is the most evolved species. Kingdom Animalia is also referred to as metazoa. Order: Testudines, Family: Cheloniidae, Genus: Eretmochelys, Species: imbricata Members of this kingdom are all eukaryotic and multicellular organisms. (Plotkin, 2003, p. 225-241). They are also heterophytes meaning they depend on other plants for food. The hawksbill turtles mostly feed on sea anemones, shrimps, squid, and algae. This gets aided by their narrow heads and beak-shaped jaws that enable them to extract food from coral reefs and crevices. Fully mature adults reach a maximum weight of between (45-70) kg, and hatchlings weigh about 15g at birth. Upon reaching maturity, the turtles may reach a length of (65-90) cm. Hawksbill turtles are cold-blooded and have specialized lungs that enable them to hold their breath for long under water. Their slow heart rates help in conservation of oxygen thus significantly increasing the time they can spend under water. They lay their eggs in secluded lagoons and cover their clutches of eggs with sand. The eggs take about 63 days for the hatchlings to emerge.

The species is commonly found in the warm tropical waters. Since they are a highly migratory species, the turtles get found in a wide variety of habitats such as lagoons, open oceans and in some cases in mangrove swamps. (Carr, & Stancyk,1975, p.161-172). However, most of the hawksbills are found in areas around the Indian Ocean, Atlantic and the Pacific Ocean as these oceans contain the warm tropical waters preferred by these turtles. In the Atlantic, the population is spread out from the Gulf of Mexico all the way south to the Cape of Good Hope in southern Africa. They can also be located off the coast of Brazil through Florida and the waters off the coast of Virginia. In the Indian Ocean, the turtles are found along the eastern coast of Africa, south of the Asian coast, north of Australia and also in the regions surrounding Madagascar. For the Pacific, the coast of Peru is a natural habitat for the species. However, a recent study showed that the turtles had been greatly exploited thereby significantly reducing their population.

The hawksbills are a favorite prey for most predators such as raccoons, dogs, and pig crabs, wolves among others. However, above all these predators that prey on the turtles, human fishing is the primary threat that has dramatically affected the population of the species. Overfishing has led to the depletion of these turtles in their natural habitats. The indiscriminate fishing of hatchlings has also made it even difficult for the regeneration of these species. On the other hand, hawksbills have no prey as they are herbivorous generally feeding on algae and other suspended materials in the ocean waters. Adult turtles, however, have few predators this can get attributed to their hard and fully developed shells that make it difficult for predators to attack them upon retreating into the shell. The hard shell also protects the turtles from seagulls when they are onshore. However, predators such as large sharks, e.g., tiger sharks and killer whales are known to prey on hawksbills turtles.

Although it is illegal to hunt hawksbill sea turtles in most countries, fishing by humans is still rampant in many areas where these turtles occur. In most of the regions where the illegal fishing is carried out, the turtles get eaten as delicacies. The culture dates back as early as the fifth century BC in China where the turtles known as "Tai mei" were not only a common but also favorite delicacy for the people. Apart from consumption as a local dish, the eggs were also harvested for small markets for commercial purposes and used as food too. (Chan, Cheng, Zhou, Wang, Gu & Song, 2007, p.185-198). The turtle shells were also used by other cultures such as the Egyptians for decoration purposes and were referred to as tortoiseshell. The quest to obtain these beautiful shells was a contributing factor to the increased hunt for hawksbills turtles. In Japan, harvesting was also carried out aimed at obtaining the turtle's shells known as "bekko" in Japan. The shell got refined and was used in different personal implements including frames for eyeglasses and other jewelry such as earrings and bracelets. Coastal dwellers for a long time also used turtle fat for medicinal purposes to treat conditions such as convulsions, asthma, general body pains and certain skin diseases. The numerous benefits derived from these turtles have significantly contributed to their exploitation by human beings thereby threatening the existence of the species. Other significant threats that provide to the near extinction of the species include; loss of their natural habitat, i.e., coral reefs, use of nesting beaches as recreational facilities, pollution of oceanic waters among other factors.

Fishing grounds for hawksbills turtles are located around the northern Caribbean, Cuba, Haiti, Caicos and the Turks islands of the U.K. in these regions, fishing is allowed, and the annual catch ranges between several metric tons.

The excellent transient lead of sea turtles makes them shared resources among various nations. (Meylan and Donnelly,1999, p. 200-224). Such factors make insurance endeavors for sea turtle populaces troublesome since in a few countries the collecting could be unlawful while it is satisfactory in another. Sea turtles are ensured by various overall associations together with certain extra national laws, for example,

CMS: recorded in Appendices I and II of the Convention on Migratory Species and are secured under the going with sponsorship of CMS.

IOSEA: Memorandum of Understanding on the Conservation and Management of Marine Turtles and their Habitats of the Indian Ocean and South-East Asia.

SPAW: secured under Annex II of the Specially Protected Areas and Wildlife Protocol of the Cartagena Convention

IAC: The U.S. is a social event of the Inter-American Convention for the Protection and Conservation of Sea Turtles, which is the main all-inclusive course of action gave just to marine turtles

In the U.S., NOAA Fisheries (NMFS) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) have joint powers locally in the endeavor to spare this jeopardized species, with NOAA having the lead in the marine condition and USFWS having the edge on the settling shorelines. Both government workplaces, close by various state associations and worldwide colleagues, have set up measures checking murdering or illicit reaping of sea turtles while collaborating to recover them. In the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico, measures to diminish sea turtle finding while at the same time collecting fish in pelagic longline, mid-Atlantic gillnet, Chesapeake Bay pound net, and southeast shrimp and tumble trawl fisheries have been set up for instance; equip modifications, changes to calculating sharpens and time/zone terminations. NOAA Fisheries have additionally worked intimately with the shrimp trawl calculating industry to make turtle excluder devices (TEDs) to lessen the mortality of sea turtles got by chance in shrimp trawl gear. TEDs that are adequately significant to bar even the greatest sea turtles are by and by required in shrimp trawl nets. Since 1989, the U.S. has limited the importation of shrimp collected in ways that are negative to the development and augmentation of sea turtles. The import forbiddance does not have any huge impact on nations that have grasped sea turtle protection programs like that of the U.S. (i.e., require and maintain the use of TEDs) for example, countries that fish for shrimp in districts where sea turtles are absent. The U.S. Department of State is the focal completing office of this law, while we fill in as a particular specialist. We give wide TED setting up all through the world.

Conclusion

With the above measures set up, the hawksbills turtles will have a possibility of surviving the present elimination they face and keep going for a significant drawn-out period of time.

References

Meylan, A. B., & Donnelly, M. (1999). Status justification for listing the hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) as critically endangered on the 1996 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals. Chelonian Conservation and Biology, 3(2), 200-224.

Carr, A., & Stancyk, S. (1975). Observations on the ecology and survival outlook of the hawksbill turtle. Biological Conservation, 8(3), 161-172.

Witzell, W. N. (1983). Synopsis of biological data on the hawksbill turtle, Eretmochelys imbricata (Linnaeus, 1766) (No. 137). Food & Agriculture Org.

Plotkin, P. (2003). Adult migrations and habitat use. The biology of sea turtles, 2, 225-241.

Chan, S. K. F., Cheng, I. J., Zhou, T., Wang, H. J., Gu, H. X., & Song, X. J. (2007). A comprehensive overview of the population and conservation status of sea turtles in China. Chelonian conservation and biology, 6(2), 185-198.