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
Green sea turtle prominent feature at ceremonial and religious feasts. Turtles were harvested in the remotest parts of the Indonesian archipelago. Bali has been importing sea turtles since the 1950s, as its own turtle supplies became depleted. The mostly Hindu Balinese do not eat the eggs, but sell them instead to local Muslims. Commercial farms, such as the Cayman Turtle Farm in the West Indies, once bred them for commercial sale of turtle meat, turtle oil (rendered from the fat), turtle shell, and turtle leather made from the skin. The farm's initial stock was in large part from "doomed" eggs removed from nests