Fatal attraction?

The ancient beauty of a hawksbill turtle. Note the beautiful carapace scutes or bony scates.

Millions of hawksbills were killed for tortoiseshell in the last 100 years, leaving Sabah to grapple with its impact at the moment.

“Despite efforts to protect the hawksbill through legal framework and policies , the illegal trade of their shells continues to pose significant threat to the species,” the study team pointed out. Alarm is raised about the steady decline of the hawksbill population and call for action to prevent further decline sounded.

To prevent further decline in sea turtle populations, we recommend further investigation to understand the extent of the threat, particularly across reefs such as Baturua Reef, which is at the start of the supply chain. Moreover, marine outreach and awareness programmes are crucial to enhance the knowledge and understanding of sea turtles and other marine animals among local communities.By gaining insight into the threat posed by tortoiselshell harvesting of sea turtle species, we can better define population viability concerns for resource managers and identify poaching hotspots for the trade.

We quote the study: “In 2021, we found direct evidence of ongoing tortoise harvest by discovering a complete set of raw hawksbill turtle carapace scutes sealed in plastic washed ashore at Pom Pom Island.Capping that, the study cited the shock finds of Tropical Research And Conservation Centre , a Pom Pom based NGO dedicated to turtle conservation.

The second find was a bit of a shock – a free swimming female adult hawksbill with its tortoiseshell already neatly carved out and scutes removed from its carapace, and again, with a rope still tied around its neck, howbeit the turtle was observed resting on the coral reef with no sign of distress.

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Fatal attraction?IS this a case of fatal attraction? Has the ancient beauty of hawksbill turtle tortoiseshell landed it in a population crisis and may prove its undoing? Population sizes of hawksbills have “sharply declined” due to many human factors but the  most profound is the harvest of its carapace scutes (bony scales) known as tortoiseshell or bekko, fuelled by the intensive shell trade on the tortoiseshell which is a luxury item used to make elegant combs and brushes, jewelry boxes and ornaments, well into the 20th century.
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