My Deep-sea Fishery

Xiang Yang shook his head, "The hawksbill turtle is now on the verge of extinction, and has long been listed as a national protected animal."

Chen Qingsheng looked around in disbelief, "Is this kind of guy everywhere, an endangered creature?"

"Is that a lot? Not much at all. Don't look at the surrounding area where there seem to be a lot of hawksbill turtles. In fact, this sea area may be the largest gathering place for this kind of hawksbill turtles. If you disperse these hawksbill turtles throughout the ocean, you Is that too much?" Xiang Yang asked.

Chen Qingsheng nodded thoughtfully, "Well, if you calculate it like this, it's really not much."

Xiang Yang continued to look at the tortoise shells.

In fact, when Xiang Yang said that these hawksbill turtles were on the verge of extinction, he was not alarmist at all.

First of all, the reproduction method of hawksbill turtles is actually extremely difficult.

The spawning period of hawksbill turtles is generally from March to April. When spawning, females go ashore in the daytime and dig holes on the beach to lay eggs. The diameter of the hole is about 20 cm, and the depth is about 30 cm. One spawning period is divided into three times. , 130-200 eggs are laid each time.

The eggs of tortoiseshell turtles are ovoid, white, and the shells are soft and elastic.

The diameter of hawksbill eggs is about 3.5 centimeters, and the hatching time is long. It takes more than two months for the larvae to hatch.

The carapace of the newly hatched young turtles is not completely hard, but it has been arranged in an imbricate shape. The neck of the young turtles can be stretched freely, but cannot turn back and forth, left and right.

At this time, the young turtles are actually extremely dangerous.

The racial status of the hawksbill species is very bad.

Analyzes based on published and unpublished reports indicate that all major marine subpopulations have declined substantially over the past three generations due to overexploitation of hawksbill nesting beaches, degradation of nest habitats, and larval and adult survival.

Incidental mortalities associated with marine fisheries and degradation of marine habitats in what used to be a major hawksbill foraging area. Analysis of subpopulation changes at 25 indexed sites globally distributed revealed an 84% to 87% decline in the number of females hatching each year over the past three generations.

Many populations, especially some of the larger populations, continue to decline.

Some protected populations have stabilized or increased after anthropogenic efforts, but over three generations the overall decline of the species has exceeded 80%.

It has long been believed that sea turtle species such as hawksbills are not threatened with extinction because they have a long lifespan, slow growth, long reproductive period, late maturity, and high reproductive rate. Moreover, there are many age groups in the hawksbill population, and the sharp decline in the number in the short term is not easy to be detected. Discover.

But in fact, although the reproduction rate of hawksbill turtles is high, like most sea turtles, the survival rate of hatchlings is quite low.

Many adult turtles have been killed intentionally or accidentally by humans, and turtle nests have been taken by humans and animals.

Small mammals raid the hawksbill's nest, dig up the eggs and eat them.

In the U.S. Virgin Islands, mongooses attack the nests of sea turtles, including hawksbill and leatherbacks, immediately after laying their eggs.

Jackals, sand crabs, jackals and even domestic animals also raid hawksbill nests.

Hawksbill turtles near Tobago Island Historically, hawksbill turtles were listed as endangered species by IUCN in 1982. This status was maintained in several evaluations in 1986, 1988, 1990 and 1994. Since 1996, the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species has upgraded the protection status of hawksbill to critically endangered.

Some people objected when the hawksbill was listed as an endangered species. Two petition reports claimed that the hawksbill and three other species had multiple important stable populations around the world. However, IUCN rejected these petitions based on the data analysis submitted by the sea turtle expert group.

Data provided by the Sea Turtle Expert Group show that the population of hawksbill turtles has decreased by more than 80% in the past three generations, while the number of mature female turtles that nest and lay eggs each year has decreased by 84-87%, and the population has not increased significantly in 1996.

Moreover, these data cannot take into account juvenile sea turtles drifting in the ocean for food in the measurement, so the data obtained greatly underestimate the decline in the population. Therefore, based on these data, IUCN classifies hawksbills as CR A1 status, but not CR A2, because IUCN believes that there is not enough data to show that the population of hawksbills will further decrease by 80% or more in the future.

In the late twentieth century, governments of various countries have made more and more efforts to protect hawksbill turtles, such as implementing temporary or permanent laws and regulations and establishing sea turtle nature reserves. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has listed hawksbill turtles as endangered species since 1970, and the United States has implemented multiple recovery programs in appropriate locations to protect local hawksbill populations.

Hawksbill turtles have also been included in the list of national second-class key protected wild animals in my country. In many places, there have even been established Huidong Port Sea Turtle Nature Reserves to protect sea turtles such as hawksbill turtles, green sea turtles and other species.

Although it is illegal to hunt hawksbill turtles, many people still fish for hawksbill turtles around the world.

In some regions, hawksbill turtles are still eaten as a delicacy.

Especially in my country, as early as the 5th century BC, sea turtles such as hawksbill turtles were regarded as delicacy by the Chinese people. This kind of awareness that has been deeply rooted in the bones for hundreds of years is difficult to change in a short period of time.

Even today, some people still firmly believe that eating turtle meat can prolong life.

There are also some people who like to collect tortoiseshell shells as collectibles.

For example, in our country, many literati like to put a tortoise shell in their study.

This is related to our traditional culture.

Tortoiseshell is one of the images in Chinese classical poetry.

Such as the wonderful description of Liu Lanzhi's appearance in the Han Yuefu poem "Peacock Flying Southeast" and "Ancient Poems Written by Jiao Zhongqing's Wife". How to comfort parting, the tortoiseshell hairpin behind the ear, the homonym of "chai" is removed, which means separation.

Even Li Bai, a poetic fairy, once wrote that "the tortoise shell is often considered lonely".

In countless poems, the tortoiseshell feast is often used to describe the delicacy and luxury of the banquet.

Xiang Yang doesn't think there is anything wrong with this beautiful image.

Tortoiseshell shells are indeed very beautiful.

But because of his own selfishness, in order to occupy this kind of beauty, he wantonly killed the small number of tortoise shells. Xiang Yang felt that this was very wrong.

Xiang Yang felt that such a rare marine creature, if this generation doesn't protect it properly so that it can recuperate, the final result is that a creature like a tortoiseshell will only be able to survive in this blue sea. Disappeared in the vast sea, completely only exists in the beautiful poetry.

"Everyone wants to take pictures quickly, but you must be careful not to hurt these tortoise shells." Xiang Yang said to everyone.

In this hawksbill gathering place, apart from the adult hawksbills, there are also some small hawksbill turtles that are smaller than a palm. If you don't pay attention, if you are stepped on, you will definitely die.