used in various personal implements, such as eyeglass frames and the shamisen (Japanese traditional three-stringed instrument) picks. In 1994, Japan stopped importing hawksbill shells from other nations. Prior to this, the Japanese hawksbill shell trade was around of raw shells per year. In Europe, hawksbill sea turtle shells were harvested by the ancient Greeks and ancient Romans for jewellery, such as combs, brushes, and rings. Recently, processed shells were regularly available in large amounts in countries including the Dominican Republic and Colombia. Global estimates of the historical exploitation of hawksbills have received recent attention. From 1950-1992, one pioneering study estimated that as many as 1.37 million adult hawksbills were killed in the international tortoiseshell trade alone. With the aid of substantial additional trade data, including official trade records from the imperial Japanese archives, the international trade of tortoiseshell was recently updated to have killed approximately 8.98 million hawksbills (range 4.64 to 9.83 million) from 1844-1992. Most of the trade occurred in the Pacific Ocean basin, and the countries of origin and trade routes bore similarity to what is known of illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU fishing). Conservation Consensus has determined sea turtles, including E. imbricata to be at least threatened, because of their slow growth and maturity and low reproductive rates. Humans have killed many adult turtles, both accidentally and deliberately. Their existence is threatened due to pollution and loss of nesting areas because of coastal development. Biologists estimate that the hawksbill population has declined 80 percent in the past 100–135 years. Human and animal encroachment threatens nesting sites, and small mammals dig up the eggs to eat. In the US Virgin Islands, mongooses raid hawksbill nests (along with other sea turtles, such as Dermochelys coriacea) right after they are laid. In 1982, the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species first listed E. imbricata as endangered. This endangered status continued through several reassessments in 1986, 1988, 1990, and 1994 until it was upgraded in status to critically endangered in 1996. Two petitions challenged its status as an endangered species prior to this, claiming the turtle (along with three other species) had several significant stable populations worldwide. These petitions were rejected based on their data analysis submitted by the Marine Turtle Specialist Group (MTSG). The MTSG data showed the worldwide hawksbill sea turtle population had declined by 80% in the three most recent generations, and no significant population increase had