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
Hawksbill sea turtle was used for making and decorating a variety of small items, as it was in the West. Along the south coast of Java, stuffed hawksbill turtles are sold in souvenir shops, though numbers have decreases in the last two decades. In Japan, the turtles are also harvested for their shell scutes, which are called "bekko" in Japanese. It is 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