Endangered hawksbill sea turtles on way to Persian Gulf waters

Qeshm, May 15, IRNA – Hawksbill sea turtles, likely to become extinct, have hatched out of the eggs and are on way to the southern Iranian waters of the Persian Gulf early on Sunday. The first group of hawksbill sea turtles (eretmochelys imbricata) crawled to the water from the beach of a village on the southern Iranian island of Qeshm. A few days ago, the head of the Qeshm environment department predicted that over 2,000 turtle eggs would hatch here. Mohammad Dakhteh said that about 80 percent of those eggs are fertile. Hawksbill sea turtles are going to become extinct not only in the Persian Gulf but also in waters across the world. The southern beach of Qeshm Island annually hosts hundreds of hawksbill sea turtles that come here to spawn. Their breeding spot was registered on the national heritage list of Iran over a decade ago. Follow us on Twitter @IrnaEnglish