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The hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) rookeries at the west coast of Yucatan Peninsula (Campeche) are the largest in the Western Atlantic. One of the oldest sea turtle conservation and research programs in Mexico started in Campeche in 1992, becoming a robust long-term research project monitoring and tagging hawksbill individuals at their critical habitats. After 25 years of tagging data, we have evaluated the spatiotemporal variability of vital signs for the immature and reproductive populations, including the assessment of connectivity between and among rookeries in the Yucatan Peninsula, the Gulf of Mexico, and Western Caribbean. This is a reference example of long-term vision for monitoring and conserving long-lived critically endangered species, and how a well-structured tagging project that persisted in time contribute with measurable indicators of the sea turtle populations' condition and becomes a keystone for the species' recovery.