Hawksbill sea turtle

Photo: simondc03 · CC BY-NC

Hawksbill turtles are the most reef-dependent of all sea turtle species: their narrow pointed beak is adapted to extract sponges from crevices in hard coral, and sponges make up as much as 95 percent of their diet. By consuming sponges that would otherwise overgrow and smother coral, hawksbills perform a direct ecological service to the reefs they inhabit. Folkestone's no-take zone protects the nesting females that return to Barbados beaches between May and November.