Hawksbill sea turtle

Facts

• Pointed, hawk-like beak and a shell with overlapping plates and a serrated edge.^[1]
• Lives mostly on healthy coral reefs and is the only sea turtle that can live mainly on sponges.^[1]
• NOAA designated critical habitat in the waters around Mona and Monito, and Mona has some of the most important hawksbill nesting in the US.^[1]
• Puerto Rico's fishing rules ban catching, keeping or selling any sea turtle.^[2]

Related guide: see the guide →

Where it's been reported (9)

From the sources on each dive site's page. Sightings are never guaranteed.

• El Natural · Aguadilla & Northwest“hawksbill turtles” (Aquatica Underwater Adventures)
• Cayo Lobito · Culebra“resident nurse sharks, hawksbill turtles, flamingo tongues and southern stingrays” (SSI (Scuba Schools International))
• Sand Slide · Fajardo & La Cordillera“green and hawksbill turtles” (Aqua Adventure)
• Escambrón · San Juan & North Coast“green turtles (resident, some hawksbill)” (Scuba Dogs)
• Isla Verde Reef · San Juan & North Coast“hawksbill and green turtles — report cites a hawksbill/green turtle monitoring study confirming the reef as habitat” (Junta de Manejo Reserva Marina Arrecife de la Isla Verde / Arrecifes Pro Ciudad Inc. (hosted by DRNA))
• Mosquito Pier · Vieques“hawksbill turtles” (Discover Puerto Rico)
• Black Eagle · West Coast“hawksbill turtles, blue tang, giant anemones” (Vantage Dive Club)
• Isla de Ratones (Cabo Rojo) · West Coast“hawksbill and green turtles (nesting)” (Primera Hora)
• Tres Palmas (Steps) · West Coast“nesting area for leatherback and hawksbill turtles; humpback and fin whale mating and nursing area” (Asamblea Legislativa de Puerto Rico)