Eretmochelys imbricata

Genetic analyses in the Atlantic and Indo-Pacific indicate that nesting populations comprise separate and identifiable stocks that should be treated as separate management units (Bass et al. 1996, Bowen et al. 1996, Bowen et al. 2007). Hawksbill aggregations on foraging grounds comprise animals from multiple nesting populations and often include animals from distant rookeries (Broderick et al. 1994, Bowen et al. 2007).  

Rationale

Assessment Procedure:

In accord with the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria, the Hawksbill is listed as Critically Endangered (CR A2bd) because it meets the following criteria:

A.  Reduction in population size based on:

2.    An observed, estimated, inferred or suspected population size reduction of >80% over the last 10 years or three generations, whichever is the longer, where the reduction or its causes may not have ceased OR may not be understood OR may not be reversible, based on (and specifying):

(b)    an index of abundance appropriate to the taxon; and

(d)   actual or potential levels of exploitation.

This assessment measures changes in populations based on the number of mature individuals (IUCN 2001a), specifically changes in the annual number of nesting females.

Index Sites:

Choice of Index Sites.  Reliable historic data are not available for all subpopulations, so the present report quantifies population trends by examining data from 25 Index Sites (see W-Figure 1, IND-Table 1, PAC-Table 1 and ATL-Table 1 in attached PDF).   Index Sites were chosen to represent broad regional subpopulation trends over time and include representative major nesting areas as well as many of the lesser nesting areas for which quantitative data are available.  An estimated 41% of the current global population of nesting females is represented by index sites.

The most reliable method of monitoring trends in sea turtle populations are long-term population assessments conducted at the nesting beach (Meylan 1982) and these are used as an appropriate index of abundance for the taxon (IUCN 2001a, 2001b). But, estimating the total number of adult females in a nesting population is complicated by the fact that an individual female typically nests several times within a breeding season, and follows a non-annual breeding schedule, with intervals of two to seven years separating consecutive nesting seasons.  Individuals also may be reproductively active for decades (Carr et al. 1978, FitzSimmons et al. 1995, Mortimer and Bresson 1999).  Long-term monitoring is thus essential to document true population change.   Few long-term studies of nesting Hawksbills exist, in part because sea turtle research did not become popular until the 1970s, and by then many populations had already been reduced to low levels (Meylan 1999).

Interpretation of long-term data can be complicated.  Because Hawksbills mature slowly, an over-exploited nesting population may already be in decline for decades before the damage manifests itself as a decrease in numbers of nesting turtles on the nesting beach.  Meanwhile, documented increases in numbers of nesting females must be interpreted cautiously, as they do not always reflect an absolute increase in the size of the population. In situations where protection is afforded a breeding population that previously had been subject to intense exploitation, numbers of egg clutches laid are likely to rise precipitously at the newly protected rookery.  This is because, with protection, individual females survive not only to lay their full complement of three to five egg clutches within a single nesting season, but also return to breed in subsequent seasons. 

Because of the extended and complicated life cycle of the Hawksbill, to quantify only a single stage in the life cycle will not always adequately portray the true status of the entire population.  For example, where over-exploitation of nesting females or eggs has impeded reproduction during long periods of time, estimates of population decline based only on numbers of nests may significantly underestimate the overall population decline at those sites because they will not reflect the absence of juvenile foraging turtles in the wider population (Mortimer 1995).  Although studies on foraging grounds are useful, reliable quantitative data on the size of foraging populations, and especially historical data describing foraging populations, are generally not available.  Interpretation of foraging data is further confounded by the mixing of animals from various nesting populations at the foraging grounds (Broderick et al. 1994, Encalada et al. 1996).  Similarly, recent increases on some Caribbean nesting beaches demonstrate the difficulty in predicting increasing numbers of sea turtles.  Although reduced effort in the Cuban Hawksbill fishery has spared more than 55,000 large animals on its foraging grounds since the early 1990s (Mortimer et al. 2007), to date regional nesting increases are still relatively small. 

Data Sources for Index Sites.  To assess long term changes in the nesting populations at each of the 25 Index Sites, we used several types of data sources, often in combination with each other.  For sites for which data on annual numbers of nesting females are not available we used other indices of nesting abundance, including numbers of nests recorded, numbers of nesting females killed, numbers of nesting females recorded per unit of patrol effort, and numbers of egg clutches collected for human consumption or for incubation in hatcheries.  At some sites, different measures of Hawksbill abundance were used, including tortoiseshell export statistics, and total numbers of slaughtered animals (including both nesting and foraging turtles).  The data were derived from a multitude of sources, including published scientific and historical literature and unpublished reports. We are grateful to the numerous researchers, especially the members of the MTSG Hawksbill Task Force, who generously provided their unpublished data and the benefit of their personal experience to ensure that the most up-to-date information be included in this assessment (see Acknowledgements in the attached PDF).  As noted in the text and accompanying tables, such information is recorded as in litt. citations. 

Unfortunately, for sea turtles and other long-lived species, decades of long-term quantitative data are seldom available.  Few Hawksbill nest-monitoring projects were carried out in the 20^th Century on populations that are now depleted or remnants of their former size (Meylan 1999). Nevertheless, to estimate changes in populations over time, the contributions of historically large, but now depleted, populations needs to be considered.  Where quantitative data are lacking, old naturalist’s records, historic egg collection data, and tortoise shell trade statistics are often the best source of information about populations, and can be used to estimate former abundance and subsequent declines.  Unfortunately, while some excellent information about the enormous trade in tortoiseshell is available, in many areas of the world researchers will never know the full extent of the Hawksbill declines that have taken place before and during the 20^th Century. For example, Hawksbills were likely found in some numbers along the eastern coasts of the Pacific and Atlantic although now they have become scarce.   

Extrapolated Data For Index Sites.  In the present assessment, where quantitative data are available, population abundance estimates are based on raw data, and linear and exponential extrapolation functions (IUCN 2001a). In some subpopulations, more than one trajectory was exhibited over the 3-generation interval; changes in subpopulation size are thus often based on a combination of raw data and extrapolations. If no change is believed to have occurred outside the time interval for which published abundance data are available, we use the raw data to determine the change in population size. However, when it appeared that change in subpopulation abundance occurred outside the interval for which raw data were available, we used extrapolation techniques to determine the overall change. Linear extrapolations were used when it was believed that the same amount of change occurred each year, irrespective of total subpopulation size. Exponential extrapolations were used when it was believed that change was proportional to the subpopulation size. In cases where there is a lack of information on the specific rate of change, we used both linear and exponential extrapolations to derive a population estimate. However, when either the linear or exponential function produced an obviously unrealistic number, we included the unrealistic figures in the tables summarizing estimated population change over three generations (and noted them as being unrealistic), but we did not use those unrealistic figures to estimate population changes for the ocean basin under consideration (see IND-Table 3, PAC-Table 3, and ATL-Table 3 in attached PDF).

Backward Extrapolations of Increasing Populations.  Significant increases in nesting populations during the past two decades have been recorded at a number of nesting localities, particularly in the Atlantic Ocean at the following Index Sites:  Antigua (Jumby Bay), Barbados, Cuba (Doce Leguas Cays), Mexico (Yucatan Peninsula), Puerto Rico (Mona Island), and US Virgin Islands (Buck Island Reef National Monument). The observed population increases correlate with implementation of protective measures at these nesting sites in combination with decreased exploitation at neighbouring foraging grounds (especially in Cuba).  However, most of these now-increasing populations were not monitored prior to implementation of protective measures (the presence of researchers on the beach is often a significant element of the actual protection afforded such sites). 

Using only the raw data available for these now-increasing sites, it would be impossible to estimate the overall rate of population change during the past three turtle generations, since in most cases data for the protected sites are only available from the mid-1980s onward. There is no reason to doubt that these increasing populations had suffered the same sort of declines as other nesting populations in the region for which earlier data exist. Rather than eliminate these populations from the summary calculations for the ocean basin (and over-estimate the rate of decline), we incorporated these data by extrapolating backwards from 1985, using the average population trajectory calculated for all the other Index Sites in the region for which there are data prior to 1985. The results of these calculations are presented in ATL-Table 6 (in attached PDF).

Qualitative Information

Numerical historic rates of change in the sizes of nesting populations at the Index Sites describe only one aspect of the global conservation status of the Hawksbill turtle, and tend to be somewhat biased towards those subpopulations for which long-term quantitative data exist.  A wealth of information also exists about the current status of many of the world's Hawksbill nesting populations, as well as the various modern-day factors, both positive and negative, affecting them.  These include:  a) the residual impacts from long-term tortoiseshell trade;  b) current levels of purposeful slaughter and egg collection;   c) incidental capture in fishing gear; d) destruction of nesting beaches caused by unregulated coastal development, oil pollution, sea level rise and accompanying erosional processes, and elevated incubation temperatures;  e)  damage to foraging habitat caused by sea water warming, and pollution;  and  f)  efforts to raise awareness, and to coordinate and legislate protection.  Such information is critical to a complete understanding of the current status of Hawksbill populations around the world. 

For 58 countries around the world we have compiled information on current estimated population sizes and qualitative information about current trends in nesting and foraging populations, and the factors influencing them either positively or negatively (see IND-Table 5, PAC-Table 5 and ATL-Table 7 in attached PDF)  The inclusion of such relatively qualitative information ensures that even those countries with the fewest resources for monitoring and enforcement can be represented in this assessment; and these areas are often the ones where greatest exploitation and declines have occurred (IUCN 2001b).  

Uncertainties in the Assessment Process

As with any assessment based on historic data or small data sets, there is uncertainty relating to the final results of this report. The sources of uncertainty are rooted in the procedure itself as well as in the stochastic nature of Hawksbill biology. Both sources of uncertainty are ultimately related to a lack of information, and when dealing with an animal as long-lived as a Hawksbill, this can be a particularly acute problem. 

Since the last Hawksbill assessment (Meylan and Donnelly 1999), the IUCN Standarads and Petitions Working Group have developed a system of regression equations to address population changes over time and produce estimates of previous population sizes.  With care to filter out overly regressed populations, this system appears to be adequate. Scale of population change needs to be cautiously addressed: on the one hand, declines can

For further information about this species, see 8005.pdf.

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The Hawksbill has a circumglobal distribution throughout tropical and, to a lesser extent, subtropical waters of the Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, and Pacific Ocean. Hawksbills are migratory and individuals undertake complex movements through geographically disparate habitats during their lifetimes. Hawksbill nesting occurs in at least 70 countries, although much of it now only at low densities. Their movements within the marine environment are less understood, but Hawksbills are believed to inhabit coastal waters in more than 108 countries (Groombridge and Luxmoore 1989, Baillie and Groombridge 1996; see Regional Overviews in attached PDF).

Generation Length

Generation length is defined as the age to maturity plus one half the reproductive longevity (Pianka 1974). Hawksbills mature very slowly, taking 20 to 40 years, and so are long-lived (Chaloupka and Musick 1997). In the Caribbean and Western Atlantic, Hawksbills may mature in 20 or more years (Boulon 1983, 1994; Diez and van Dam 2002; Krueger in litt. 2006). Age to maturity in the Indo-Pacific requires a minimum of 30-35 years (Limpus 1992; Limpus and Miller 2000; Mortimer et al. 2002, 2003). In northeastern Australia, first breeding is estimated to occur at 31-36 years for females and 38 years for males (Limpus and Miller 2000).

Data on reproductive longevity in Hawksbills are limited, but becoming available with increasing numbers of intensively monitored, long-term projects on protected beaches.  During the last decade, numerous individual Caribbean Hawksbills have been recorded actively nesting over a period of 14-22 years (C.E. Diez in litt. 2006, Z. Hillis-Starr in litt. 2006, Parrish and Goodman 2006). In the Indo-Pacific  Mortimer and Bresson (1999) and Limpus (1992) have reported nesting over 17-20 years, comparable to other Chelonid turtles which range from 20 to 30 years (Carr et al. 1978, FitzSimmons et al. 1995).

Given estimated ages to maturity of 25 years in the Caribbean and 35 years in the Indo-Pacific, with half of reproductive longevity estimated at 10 years, a conservative generation length of 35 years (25 + 10 years) is calculated for the Caribbean and Western Atlantic, and 45 years (35 + 10 years) in the Indo-Pacific. In analyzing the data, declines over three generations are therefore measured for up to 105 years in the Caribbean and Western Atlantic and up to 135 years in the Indo-Pacific. In fact, generation length may well have been longer in the days when population density was higher (Bjorndal et al. 2000). 

Nesting Population Size and Fecundity

Sea turtle population trends are best diagnosed using in-water abundance estimates coupled with estimates of demographic parameters such as survival and recruitment possibilities (Chaloupka and Limpus 2001, Bjorndal et al. 2005). However, these data rarely exist for sea turtle populations and so most assessments are based on evaluating nesting trends, which assumes a close correlation between population trends and nesting activity (Bjorndal et al. 2005).

Population Trends and Conclusions

In many parts of the world, Hawksbill populations have continued to decline since the publication of the previous Red List Assessment (Meylan and Donnelly 1999). Continuing losses in southeast Asia are of particular concern. Hawksbills face multiple, severe threats. The volume of the tortoiseshell trade has diminished, yet it remains active and substantial, and the Japanese bekko industry remains intact.

In 2001 the IUCN Red List Standards and Petitions Subcommittee upheld the Critically Endangered listing of the Hawksbill, based on ongoing and long-term declines in excess of 80% within the time frame of three generations and ongoing exploitation (IUCN 2001b). The Subcommittee review cited “convincing evidence of reductions in excess of 80% over the last three generations at many, if not most of the important breeding sites throughout the global range of the species”. Not surprisingly, those declines reflect the intensity of the tortoiseshell trade in the 20^th Century. Although some relatively large populations still exist, especially in Australia, this is not inconsistent with long-term global or even regional population reduction over three generations (a point noted by the Subcommittee). Unlike previous reviews of the status of the Hawksbill, the present assessment is quantitative and provides a numerical basis for the global listing of the species as Critically Endangered. The 2001 findings of the IUCN Red List Standards and Petitions Subcommittee are as valid today as they were six years ago.

The current assessment clearly demonstrates the importance of protection in both terrestrial and marine habitats. With protection, some populations have stabilized, and others are now increasing, most notably in the Caribbean. The increases documented in the Caribbean coincide with dramatic reductions in take on the foraging grounds of Cuba which have, in effect, spared tens of thousands of large Hawksbills since the early 1990s. Such increases provide hope for the future, but unfortunately are still the exception rather than the rule. Similar results are needed elsewhere.

Habitats

Hawksbills nest on insular and mainland sandy beaches throughout the tropics and subtropics. They are highly migratory and use a wide range of broadly separated localities and habitats during their lifetimes (for review see Witzell 1983). Available data indicate that newly emerged hatchlings enter the sea and are carried by offshore currents into major gyre systems where they remain until reaching a carapace length of some 20 to 30 cm. At that point they recruit into a neritic developmental foraging habitat that may comprise coral reefs or other hard bottom habitats, sea grass, algal beds, or mangrove bays and creeks (Musick and Limpus 1997) or mud flats (R. von Brandis unpubl. data). As they increase in size, immature Hawksbills typically inhabit a series of developmental habitats, with some tendency for larger turtles to inhabit deeper sites (van Dam and Diez 1997, Bowen et al. 2007). Once sexually mature, they undertake breeding migrations between foraging grounds and breeding areas at intervals of several years (Witzell 1983, Dobbs et al. 1999, Mortimer and Bresson 1999). Global population genetic studies have demonstrated the tendency of female sea turtles to return to breed at their natal rookery (Bowen and Karl 1997), even though as juveniles they may have foraged at developmental habitats located hundreds or thousands of kilometers from the natal beach. While Hawksbills undertake long migrations, some portion of immature animals may settle into foraging habitats near their beaches of origin (Bowen et al. 2007).

Roles in the Ecosystem  

Threats: 

The most important threats to Hawksbill turtles, described here, are dealt with in greater detail in the section entitled Regional Overview (see attached PDF).

• Tortoiseshell Trade. Recent and historical tortoiseshell trade statistics are key to understanding the enormous and enduring effect that trade has had on Hawksbill populations around the world (see IND-Table 5, PAC-Table 5 and ATL-Table 7 in attached PDF). Within the last 100 years, millions of Hawksbills have been killed for the tortoiseshell markets of Europe, the United States and Asia. The global plight of the Hawksbill in the latter half of the 20th Century has been recognized by the inclusion of the species in the most threatened category of IUCN’s Red List since 1968 and the listing of all Hawksbill populations on Appendix I of CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, since 1977. Nevertheless, trade continued at exceptionally high levels for years as major trading countries acceded to CITES and Japan, the world’s largest consumer of bekko (tortoiseshell), continued to import shell under a CITES reservation (exception) until 1993. During the period 1950-1992, Japan’s bekko imports were the equivalent of 1,329,044 large turtles (1,408,787 kg). Conservatively estimating that 30% of the turtles taken for the trade were nesting females, nearly 400,000 adult female Hawksbills were killed for the Japanese market in those years, a time frame that approximates a single Hawksbill generation. Significant domestic trade in Hawksbill products continues to be a major problem in many countries and, despite international and domestic prohibitions and the lessening of the volume in the last decade, trade remains an ongoing and pervasive threat in the Americas and southeast Asia (Fleming 2001, Chacón 2002, TRAFFIC Southeast Asia 2004, van Dijk and Shepherd 2004, Brautigam and Eckert 2006).
• Egg Collection. Intense levels of egg exploitation continue in many parts of the world (see IND-Table 5 and ATL-Table 7 in attached PDF), especially southeast Asia, where it approaches 100% in many areas (see PAC-Tables 4 and 5 in attached PDF).
• Slaughter for Meat. Adult and juvenile Hawksbills are still killed for meat in many areas (see IND-Table 5, PAC-Table 5 and ATL-Table 7 in attached PDF).  In some places the meat is used by fishermen as shark bait (J. Mortimer unpubl. data, C. Lagueux, unpubl. data). Fishermen who target lobster and reef fish will commonly take whatever hawksbills they encounter (Carr and Meylan 1980).
• Destruction of Nesting Habitat. Tropical coastlines are rapidly being developed for tourism which often leads to destruction of nesting habitat (see IND-Table 5, PAC-Table 5 and ATL-Table 7 in attached PDF). Because Hawksbills prefer to nest under vegetation they are particularly impacted by beach-front development and clearing of dune vegetation. Daytime nesting Hawksbills in the Western Indian Ocean are particular sensitive to disturbance from human activity on the coast and in nearshore waters (Mortimer 2004). In other parts of the world such as the Middle East and Western Australia gas and oil refineries seriously disrupt nesting habitat (see IND-Table 5 and PAC-Table 5 in attached PDF).
• Destruction of Foraging Habitat. Hawksbills are typically associated with coral reefs, which are among the world’s most endangered marine ecosystems (Wilkinson 2000). Climate change has led to massive coral bleaching events with permanent consequences for local habitats (Sheppard 2006) (see IND-Table 5, PAC-Table 5 and ATL-Table 7 in attached PDF).
• Hybridisation of Hawksbills with Other Species. At certain sites where Hawksbill numbers are particularly low, they regularly hybridise with other species of sea turtles (see ATL-Table 7 in attached PDF).
• Entanglement and Ingestion of Marine Debris - including Fishing Gear. Hawkbills are particularly susceptible to entanglement in gill nets (see IND-Table 5, PAC-Table 5 andATL-Table 7 in attached PDF) and capture on fishing hooks (Mortimer 1998). Juvenile Hawksbills comprised 47% of all turtles entangled in derelict fishing nets and other debris in northern Australian waters (Kiessling 2003, White 2004). Ingestion of marine debris by Hawksbills is also significant (White 2004).
• Oil Pollution. There is evidence oil pollution has a greater impact on Hawksbills than on other species of turtle (Meylan and Redlow 2006). In some parts of the world (especially the Middle East) oil pollution is a major problem (see IND-Table 5 in attached PDF).

Tortoiseshell Trade Overview

History of the Trade

Tortoiseshell, the beautiful scutes of the carapace and plastron of the Hawksbill turtle, has been prized since ancient times. Surrounded by legend, tortoiseshell has been described as “one of the romantic articles of commerce, not only because of where it comes from, but because of the creatures from which it is obtained and the people engaged in the trade” (quoted in Parsons 1972). Jewellery and other tortoiseshell objects have been unearthed from pre-dynastic graves of the Nubian rulers of Egypt and excavated from the ruins of the Han Empire which ruled China in pre-Christian times. Over 2,000 years ago Julius Caesar considered the warehouses of Alexandria brimming with tortoiseshell to be the chief spoil of his triumph. By the early years of the 9th Century, caravans of Arab traders carried rhinoceros horn, ivory, and tortoiseshell throughout the Indian Ocean. For the next 1,000 years, the tortoiseshell trade flourished (Parsons 1972). Around 1700, during the Edo Period, the bekko (tortoiseshell) artisans of Japan established themselves at Nagasaki (Milliken and Tokunaga 1987).

The tortoiseshell trade has been closely linked to European discovery, conquest, and commerce around the world. The Portuguese, Dutch, French and English played major roles in the global trade; exploitation occurred throughout the world’s tropical oceans, and especially in the East Indies (i.e., modern day India, Indo China, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Philippines). The East Indies were a major source of the shell of antiquity, and these rich waters fittingly have been called the world’s most productive seas for tortoiseshell (Parsons 1972). In the insular Pacific international trade did not develop until the mid 19th Century, but once established, it took a tremendous toll on the region’s Hawksbills. For the next 150 years, tortoiseshell was a prized commodity in the Pacific, first with the sandal-wooders and then with the whalers (McKinnon 1975).

European Hawksbill fishing in the Caribbean began in the mid-17th Century and intensified throughout the 18th Century as demand increased (McClenachan et al. 2006). As they decimated local Hawksbill populations in one area after another, turtle fishermen moved from one site to the next. The plentiful Hawksbill resources of Central America were exploited for more than 100 years by traders, including Americans, who established the town of Bocas del Toro on the coast of Panama in 1826 (Parsons 1972). Turtling was still a lucrative business in Cuba in 1885 when the village of Cocodrilos on the Isle of Pines was settled by turtle fishermen who emigrated from the Cayman Islands after its Hawksbills were gone (Carrillo et al. 1999). Over the next 100 years, many tens of thousands of Hawksbills were captured in the rich foraging grounds of the Cuban shelf.

20th Century Trade

Tortoiseshell trade statistics are key to understanding the enormous and enduring effect that trade has had on Hawksbill populations around the world.  In the early 20th Century, tortoiseshell was imported for luxury markets in Europe, the United States and Asia as the manufacture of combs and brushes, jewellery boxes, and tortoiseshell ornaments was “an established industry in almost every civilized country” (Seale 1917). Declines in Hawksbill populations were obvious in many areas by the first part of the century, as exemplified by expressions of “wanton destruction” in the Virgin Islands (Schmidt 1916) and over exploitation in the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) (Dammerman 1929). Although existing records document an extensive trade in many countries, such as the 8,000 Hawksbills (8,000 kg) taken annually in the Philippines for the shell trade to Japan during World War I (Seale 1917) and 160,700 Hawksbills killed between 1918-1927 in the Dutch East Indies for export to Japan, Singapore and the Netherlands (Dammerman 1929), records for many other areas are incomplete.

During the 20th Century, Japan was the world’s largest importer of tortoiseshell (Milliken and Tokunaga 1987, Groombridge and Luxmoore 1989). Although data are not available for imports in the first half of the century, Japanese statistics document the import of shell equivalent to more than 1.3 million large Hawksbills from around the world between 1950-1992 and more than 575,000 stuffed juveniles from Asia between 1970-1986 (Milliken and Tokunaga 1987, Groombridge and Luxmoore 1989). Local trade in stuffed Hawksbills also flourished in the Indian Ocean, the Pacific and the Americas, especially in tourist areas. When Japanese, European, American and other Asian imports are considered along with the large quantities of tortoiseshell used locally in places like Sri Lanka and Madagascar, it is readily apparent that some millions of Hawksbills were killed for the tortoiseshell trade in the last 100 years.

Hawksbills and CITES   

In 1975, in recognition of its threatened status, the Hawksbill was included on Appendices I (Atlantic population) and II (Pacific population) of CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, when the Convention came into force. By 1977 the entire species was moved to Appendix I to prohibit all international trade. Nevertheless, the global trade continued for a number of years, in large part driven by Japanese demand.  At the end of 1992, Japanese imports ceased, but the industry continues to operate with stockpiled material.

The measures briefly described below are dealt with in greater detail in the Regional Overviews (see attached PDF).

• Treaties and Agreements.  Hawksbills benefit globally from inclusion in CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (listed on Appendix I) and CMS, the Convention on Migratory Species (listed on Appendices I and II).  Regional agreements also help to conserve Hawksbills and their habitats (see Regional Summaries, Appendix II).
• Public Awareness.  Interest in Hawksbills and other species of marine turtles is at an all-time high around the world.  Interest in ecotourism is growing.
• Capacity building.  Increasing numbers of biologists and conservationists focusing on sea turtles around the world benefit hawksbills.
• Protected Areas.  Nesting and foraging sanctuaries protect Hawksbills although effective enforcement remains an elusive goal in many.
• Legislation and Enforcement.  Numerous countries have temporarily or permanently banned all exploitation of sea turtles and their eggs and are attempting to improve enforcement of international bans on the tortoiseshell trade.