Hawksbill sea turtle are taken by humans, though it is illegal to hunt them in many countries. In some parts of the world, hawksbill sea turtles are eaten as a delicacy. As far back as the fifth century BC, sea turtles, including the hawksbill, were eaten as delicacies in China. Many cultures also use turtles' shells for decoration. These turtles have been harvested for their beautiful shell since Egyptian times, and the material known as tortoiseshell is normally from the hawksbill. In China, where it was known as "tai mei", the hawksbill is called the "tortoise-shell turtle", named primarily for its shell, which
Turtle farming found throughout the Caribbean. Presently, the facility's "vision statement" is "to be the Cayman Islands’ premier tourism attraction". A small number of hawksbill turtles have also been bred at the center. Due to the lack of CITES certification, turtle products cannot be exported outside of the Cayman Islands and the United Kingdom. However, the farm claims on its website that "even the sale of turtle meat has a positive conservation impact because it greatly reduces poaching in the wild, which is often otherwise uncontrollable, both in terms of numbers and indiscriminate in terms of age and sex". Turtle farms in