Hawksbill Sea Turtle

Photo: Josy Lai · CC BY-NC

Hawksbill turtles use the same cleaning bommies as green turtles but tend to arrive at different times of day, with greens dominant in the morning and hawksbills more active in the afternoon. Their narrow, pointed beaks allow them to extract sponges from tight crevices in the reef structure, making them important for reef architecture by opening gaps that other organisms colonise. Kerama's hawksbill population is critically important regionally, as the species is listed as Critically Endangered and suitable nesting beaches are rare in Japan.