Hawksbill sea turtles are critically endangered, facing threats from illegal shell trade, habitat destruction, and fishing bycatch.
Hawksbill turtles killed for their shells suffer through trapping and killing methods that cause significant pain. Entanglement in fishing gear causes drowning or injuries that lead to slow death. Nesting females disturbed by artificial lighting or human activity may abort nesting attempts, wasting the enormous energetic investment of reproduction. Hatchlings disoriented by artificial light crawl toward roads and buildings rather than the sea, dying of exposure or predation. The ecological collapse of coral reefs that would result from hawksbill extinction would cause incalculable harm to ocean ecosystems and the billions of animals that depend on them.