Tortoise Shell Jewelry
And The Hawksbill Sea Turtle

Tortoise shell jewelry and other items were made from the shell of the Hawksbill sea turtle, known as bekko, until the 1970s. Then people realised that the Hawksbills were disappearing and trade in this substance was banned internationally under the CITES (endangered species) agreement.

An adult Hawksbill carapace gives about 1.3kg of bekko. To get some idea of the number of turtles that were dying each year to support this trade, Japan was importing up to 30,000kg of shell annually, which represents at least 23,000 animals. Each year.

That assumes those animals were all adults. Far less bekko would be harvested from an immature animal, making the total number of dead turtles far higher than the conservative estimate of 23,000.

Thankfully this trade has stopped and in general bekko has been replaced by synthetic alternatives. Unfortunately the Hawksbill populations that were plundered to support this trade have not recovered, and the species is still listed as critically endangered with no reprieve in sight.

Making tortoiseshell jewelry is a tradition in Japan, but since the ban on bekko in the 70s the raw material has stopped flowing to the craftsmen who work it for a living. This is certainly a cause for sadness for those people, as they have all but run out of unrefined bekko to work with and their traditions and skills will be lost.

Nevertheless, we need to put the interests of the Hawksbill turtle above the desire of some people to adorn themselves with attractive jewelry. Thank goodness for the international ban on bekko trading.